Will Commercial Energy Prices Continue to Rise?

Commercial energy prices have risen significantly in 2022. Already, many businesses are struggling to cope with the higher rates. But is there more yet to come?

Read on as we look at what’s behind the rise, whether it will continue and how you can soften the blow.

What’s happening to commercial energy prices?

Gas and electricity prices are rising across the board in the UK, and in most other countries too. Commercial energy prices are no exception. It’s down to a global shortage of gas and other supplies following lower demand from the pandemic.

Now demand has shot back up, the supplies aren’t there to meet it, adding a premium to what’s there. By September 2021, wholesale gas prices had already risen by 250%, and there’s been no let off in the months that followed.

As a result, only customers on fixed-rate tariffs have been unaffected by the change. Anyone who needs to renew will be presented with sky-high costs for a fixed deal or similarly high fees on a variable rate tariff.

Is there more yet to come?

In terms of the global shortage, the worst impact will come from the energy price cap rise. That starts from 1^st April 2022, allowing energy companies to charge more (based on the higher cost they’re paying for energy supplies in the first place).

However, looking at the broader picture, there could be even more bad news on the horizon. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen many countries cutting ties with the Eurasian country, which is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas.

While the UK isn’t particularly reliant on Russian gas, supplies elsewhere could be affected – especially in Europe. That would have a knock-on impact for UK customers, adding even more expense to the energy supplies we do use.

How to counteract rising prices

As mentioned above, switching suppliers is no longer the go-to advice for customers that want to reduce their bill. With all providers offering similarly high tariffs, the best course of action is to maximise your energy efficiency.

The Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) and Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) have both been launched by the Government over the last decade, pressing large undertakings to report on their energy consumption.

While some organisations see it simply as red tape, these requirements also provide an opportunity to reduce your energy output and save a significant amount of money. At Volta Compliance, we’re determined to help Yorkshire businesses decrease their energy use as part of ESOS and SECR.

Our team will deploy a cloud-based solution to continually monitor and gather your energy use data without any hassle. We’ll use that to make recommendations on your usage to reduce energy output and keep your bills as low as possible.

If you’d like to find out more, call our team on 0113 436 0402 or email [email protected].