Plans unveiled today (21/09/2021) by Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg have been announced to support growth, prevent unnecessary insolvencies and protect jobs in response to the rising energy bills faced by businesses, households and public sector organisations in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. What are the government doing to support UK businesses To support UK businesses, the government has set a Supported Wholesale Price which will help to cut bills this winter. This price is expected to be £211 per MWh for electricity and £75 per MWh for gas, less than half the wholesale prices anticipated this winter. Key points from the latest government announcement: The introduction of a new government scheme will see energy prices as businesses, charities and public sector organisations cut – protecting them and their jobs from rising costs. Through a new government Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the government will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers This support is in addition to the Energy Price Guarantee for households, with further measures today to strengthen support for families across the United Kingdom, including those in rentals or park homes source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses How will this energy support be applied? In this latest announcement, the UK government has stated they will apply this support to fixed contracts agreed on or after 1 April 2022, as to deemed, variable and flexible tariffs and contracts. This will also apply to energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, initially running for a six-month period. Businesses can expect to see these savings applied to their October bills which are, in most cases, received in November. As with the Energy Price Guarantee for households, business energy customers do not need to take action or apply to the scheme to access the support. Support (in the form of a p/kWh discount) will automatically be applied to bills. To ensure the protection of businesses during winter months, the introduction of this scheme will help businesses manage what was expected to be an incredibly challenging time. Liz Truss, the newly appointed Prime Minister, had this to say: “ I understand the huge pressure businesses, charities and public sector organisations are facing with their energy bills, which is why we are taking immediate action to support them over the winter and protect jobs and livelihoods. “As we are doing for consumers, our new scheme will keep their energy bills down from October, providing certainty and peace of mind. At the same time, we are boosting Britain’s homegrown energy supply so we fix the root cause of the issues we are facing and ensure greater energy security for us all.” Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng added: “We have stepped in to stop businesses collapsing, protect jobs, and limit inflation. And with our plans to boost home-grown energy supply, we will bring security to the sector, growth to the economy and secure a better deal for consumers.”  For any of our business energy customers concerned about the current energy crisis, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our customer service team for advice and guidance regarding your bills and payments.

An energy price cap is a tool introduced by the independent regulatory authority, Ofgem. The tool has been put in place to protect consumers from rising energy prices. With the intention of restricting energy suppliers from making excessive profits. The recent announcement from Ofgem in April 2022, stated that the energy price cap on variable tariffs will increase by 54%. This explains why the majority of consumers will have noticed a rise in their energy prices. On average, for tariff customers, energy bills will increase by £693 to £1,971 per year. As this new increase takes hold, more and more customers are noticing the effect. The reason for this increase is as a result of wholesale gas shortages which has greatly impacted the energy suppliers’ ability to meet demand. Therefore, creating a need to pass on some of their increased costs. While the price cap somewhat protects domestic consumers, this does not do anything to protect businesses. This means, that where they are experiencing an increase in wholesale costs, energy suppliers are passing the majority of this onto their business energy customers. With many businesses experiencing incredible rises to their business electricity and business gas bills, as well as receiving huge quotes for business energy, with some exceeding a huge 90p/kWh. What should businesses do to manage the rising energy costs? As the energy market continues to navigate a very volatile period of time, it is important to shield your business from rising energy prices for your business. For those businesses that are seeking a new energy supplier or need to secure a price due to being up for renewal, there are some solutions to consider. One of the ways business owners can shield themselves and their businesses from the current market volatility is to consider working ahead of time of your existing renewal. This is to avoid the anticipated future price rises and great uncertainty of the current energy market as we go into the winter months. Smarter procurement is one-way businesses can benefit from better energy rates. Instead of requesting quotes for immediate start dates, consider reviewing your tariff ahead of time. In the current market we are finding that unit rates and standing charges of quotes with ASAP contract start dates are coming out the most expensive. In contrast to this, if the contract end date is much further away (e.g. 6 months or more), then we are finding we are able to access lower prices. Therefore organisations can benefit from locking in lower prices in advance now, than those they would end up with if they left their renewal to within a month of their end date. Avoid out-of-contract pricing with any supplier One of our top tips is to avoid running down your contracts in the hopes prices may fall. For those D-ENERGi customers who do this or have done this, you will go onto our Deemed Energy Tariff which is the most expensive option for business energy customers as it is influenced by the daily energy wholesale market fluctuations. For us at D-ENERGi, this means we could be paying more than 3 times as much on wholesale prices in comparison with our fixed price plans, and these costs will unfortunately have to be passed on to the customer. We cannot stress this enough; avoid at all costs running down your contracts if possible. For additional advice, do not hesitate to contact our helpful team who can support you in renewing your contract before it is too late. Whilst some experts are concerned that there could be a drop in  prices resulting from users consuming much less energy thus creating an energy surplus, there has been no signs of this being the case over the past few months. Monitoring your energy consumption Energy consumption management is an important and valuable process that all businesses should practice. By monitoring your energy usage closely you will gain a greater understanding of your bills while allowing you to optimise and control the energy usage of your company. To do this, it is as simple as enquiring about a business energy smart meter that will take automatic meter readings while providing you with real-time consumption data. At D-ENERGi we offer smart meters for businesses, available through our smart meter roll out. For more information on the energy market and how to get the best tariff for your business energy, please contact our team.

Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine this February and the continuation of heavy military attacks on the country, countries across the world have reacted by pulling away from using Russian suppliers, Russian goods, and servicing the Russian population with their products and/or services. Both to make a political and ethical statement, by doing this, companies are having a direct impact on Russian markets. One of the most prominent of these is the decision to move away from the use of Russian gas across the globe, but most importantly within Europe. Russian supplied gas Figures have been used to show that the EU and UK are the largest trading partners with Russia for fuel products such as oil. gas, and coal. The EU receives around 40% of its gas supply from Russia, showing just how reliant European countries are on Russia for a vital import such as gas. With the invasion of Ukraine, these countries, and particularly the EU, are determined to reduce or completely cut their reliance on Russia for gas. Closer to home, the UK, rely less so on Russia for gas, however, in 2021, Russia still made up 4% of gas used in the UK. While we do not rely so heavily on Russian imports for gas as our European counterparts, we still, as a country, have been exposed to the disruption the invasion of Ukraine has caused to the energy markets. Witnessing rising gas and oil prices, while our European neighbours seek other sources of energy. Moving away from Russian energy supplies Quite soon after the war broke out, both the UK and the US announced a ban on Russian oil, while the EU released their REPowerEU plan which has laid out the ambitions of the EU to make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels by 2030. However, the first steps will focus solely on gas which makes up a large percentage of their Russian imports. In conjunction with efforts to move away from fossil fuels completely and to achieve net-zero emissions, moving away from Russian energy supplies is the right move to make at this time, for reasons that are both economical, ethical, and environmental. Where does your business gas come from? Considering these crucial points, have you considered where your business gas is sourced from? If you are looking to review your supply chains, across the entirety of your company, considering where your business gas is sourced from and who this is supplied by is crucial in the current market. While nations are reviewing their Russian-supplied gas and oil, to ensure your company is not impacted by current affairs within the market, looking to switch your business gas supplier could be your next best move. Not only is this a climate change imperative but a geopolitical and financial one too. By choosing a reliable and anti-Russian gas supplier, you can prove your support for the country of Ukraine in its time of desperate need. Not only is this an issue affecting your company’s outgoings, but also your brand and your company’s reputation. Customers witnessing brands making this impactful statement are much more likely to stay loyal and continue their support for your business. Choose D-ENERGi as your business gas supplier Make the switch today and join us at D-ENERGi. All the gas we supply to our business customers is sourced solely from the UK and not Russia. If you and your company are looking to shift away from Russian-supplied gas, allow us to be your number one choice, as a business gas supplier with fixed business gas prices, stellar customer service, and your very own dedicated account manager. Get in touch with us today to find out more about our business gas rates.

Back in October 2021, the UK government introduced new legislation called the “UK Government’s Road to Zero Strategy” that set out their aim for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2030. As part of these electric vehicle charging regulations, they announced that all new buildings – both residential and commercial – would have to be fitted with an electric vehicle charge point from 15th June 2022. Why was this legislation introduced? As the popularity of electric vehicles increases, with them now accounting for 1 in 10 of all new car sales, and the UK government’s recent ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2030, there is a growing need for more support to be given to help people make the transition to electric vehicles more easily with effective electric vehicle charging point installation at home (or commercial premises). Not only do homes and businesses need to be EV (electric vehicle) ready but electric vehicle chargers need to be smart too. This legislation was therefore introduced alongside the government’s recently published regulations on smart charging which were published earlier this year (2022). This calls for electric car chargers to have several smart functions installed to relieve the pressure on the national grid and to make them future-proof as well. Overview of the building regulations for electric charging points Builders should know that: All new residential buildings with a parking space now need to also have an electric vehicle charging point installed. All new non-residential buildings with more than 10 parking spaces need to have at least one electric vehicle charging point, and cable routes for every one in five parking spaces Existing non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spaces will need at least one electric car charge point from 2025 Do the UK electric car charging points regulations affect homeowners? Only if you are thinking of moving house as if you buy a new house, it should already have an electric vehicle charger installed. If you are thinking of swapping to an electric vehicle or are starting to run an electric vehicle commercial fleet, then you may be thinking about electric vehicle charging stations near me. However, it may be wiser to think about installing electric vehicle charge points for your home or workplace – and D-ENERGi can help with that. Contact our EV charging points team on 0800 781 7626 for more information.