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Introduced at the beginning of January by the UK government, the Energy Bill Discount Scheme or the EBDS, for short, will spring into action from 1 April 2023. This will not only see the beginning of a new support scheme for businesses but will see the end of the temporary Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). What is happening to the EBRS? The EBRS, which we have touched on in a number of previous blogs, will be coming to an end on the 31st March 2023. The government was clear from the beginning that this scheme would only be a temporary solution for businesses and all non-domestic energy customers to deal with the effects of rising wholesale gas and electricity prices. As wholesale gas prices have now fallen back down to levels seen before the invasion of Ukraine, the government will be ending the EBRS and instead introducing a new scheme, the EBDS. Key facts about The Energy Bill Discount Scheme Below are the simple key facts about the Energy Bill Discount Scheme, that all business energy customers should be aware of: This new scheme will come into effect from April 1st 2023 It has been designed to support businesses over the following 12 months. The new scheme will limit the taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap that will be set at £5.5 billion. The EBDS will then come to an end on 31st March 2024. What does this mean for business energy customers? This new scheme will provide an energy bill discount to all eligible businesses. This will be a per-unit discount, subject to a maximum discount. These maximum discounts have been set at: Electricity – £19.61 per megawatt hour (MWh) with a price threshold of £302 per MWh. Gas – £6.97 per MWh with a price threshold of £107 per MWh However the government has recognised that there are particular sectors where the higher energy prices leaves them more vulnerable than others. The list of Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) details which businesses are included in this. Those within these sectors will receive a higher level of support from the government. The maximum discounts for these will be: Electricity – £89 per MWh with a price threshold of £185 per MWh Gas – £40 per MWh with a price threshold of £99 per MWh Just like previous schemes, customers do not have to actively apply reductions to bills. Instead, suppliers will do this on your behalf. However, if you are a company working within an industry listed on the ETII list, you will have to apply for the higher support available. The discount you are eligible for will be deducted in pence per kilowatt hour. It is important to note that depending on the tariff and contract you are on and your individual organisation, the level of support will vary. Are you eligible for the Energy Bill Discount Scheme? On the official government website, the eligibility criteria has been outlined as anyone who is on a non-domestic energy contract including the following: businesses voluntary sector organisations, such as charities public sector organisations such as schools, hospitals, and care homes who are: on existing fixed price contracts that were agreed on or after 1 December 2021 signing new fixed price contracts on deemed / out of contract or standard variable tariffs on flexible purchase or similar contracts on variable ‘Day Ahead Index’ (DAI) tariffs (Northern Ireland scheme only) For More information about the EBDS Scheme or to confirm that you are eligible, please do not hesitate to contact the D-ENERGi customer support team. We will be happy to help explain the scheme in more detail and explain how this will benefit your organisation from April onwards.  

As the world continues to deal with the rising cost of gas, energy prices are not taking any dramatic falls just yet. While we navigate this new ‘normal’, businesses across the country will be particularly concerned about paying this winter’s energy bill. Some of the highest consuming industries in the UK include the retail and services sector, as well as the manufacturing industry. Consuming over 10,000 Ktoe each year. In this latest blog article, we will be offering some top tips, unique to a range of industries, on how to deal with rising energy prices. Retail & Hospitality Sector  As one of the largest consumers of energy in the UK, the retail and hospitality industry will have continued to use a large amount of energy this winter, despite rising costs. In order to keep customers satisfied, retail stores must continue to keep lit, heated and running as always. While restaurants require large amounts of energy to produce dishes, make drinks, and entertain guests. Despite this, there are a number of tips that retail and hospitality businesses can take on board in order to cut energy consumption and costs. Firstly, these businesses should be paying close attention to the energy markets. Having the knowledge and understanding of energy prices and knowing how to predict fluctuations in the market will support financial planning within the business. Although you can never predict unexpected global events, like the Ukraine invasion, companies can use what they currently do know to ensure they have the budget set aside to pay higher bills than usual. Secondly, restaurants in particular, should consider cutting down on the use of heating systems. With plenty of equipment in use and a crowded venue, restaurants don’t necessarily need to have the thermostat set to high. Instead it is useful to keep this set to a regular temperature that is comfortable for both guests and staff. Both retailers and hospitality businesses will also benefit from switching off appliances and equipment that is not needed. For example a back office computer that is only used at closing time or televisions in hotel reception areas that do not need to be turned on 24/7. Manufacturing & Warehousing  The manufacturing industry is another example of a big energy consumer in the UK. Responsible for the production and distribution of a wide range of products made and handled within the country, the industry uses a large number of machinery and equipment which requires lots of energy. As such, businesses within this sector are feeling the pinch. Where many appliances are used, a manufacturer may wish to consider reviewing the equipment and tools they currently use and optimise these. Either by buying new or upgrading to more efficient, energy-saving equipment. This could be as simple as adapting the settings of your machinery to run more efficiently or having these serviced by an engineer. Since warehouses and distribution centres are such large places, keeping these warm on colder days can be a challenge. Instead of turning up the heating system, it may be worth reviewing the insulation of your building. You will find large warehouses often have draughty spots or poorly insulated roofs and windows. By investing in new insulation now, you can help correct and enhance the working temperature of your warehouse for years to come. One final tip for businesses within the manufacturing sector, is to pay attention to the industrial doors you have fitted throughout your buildings. In rooms that must be temperature-controlled, such as refrigerated storage rooms, the industrial doors should be of a high-quality. This is to ensure these rooms stay cold and the cooling systems do not need to work overtime to ensure the preservation of goods stored within. To enhance the operation of your industrial doors, be sure to have these regularly serviced and maintained by professional, qualified engineers. Office-based Businesses  With offices all over the country, we thought it best to also touch on how an office-based business can focus their attention on cutting energy this year. If you work in an office, you will most certainly know the struggle of maintaining a consistent temperature that keeps everyone happy. And although some would love the office to feel like a sauna, other members of staff prefer the room on the fresher side. All this switching between temperatures does not have a great impact on energy usage. In fact, regularly playing with the thermostat can waste energy, money, and lead to breakdowns. In order to keep everyone happy, keeping your office at a regulated, comfortable temperature is imperative. It has been suggested that temperatures between 21 – 22°C is best for office work. In fact, managers will be interested to know that temperatures above 23°C may actually have a negative effect on productivity. We would also suggest turning off any office equipment that is not in use, off at the end of each working day. It is not necessary to have laptops and screens running all through the night and simply costs the business money. For more advice and information about your business energy usage and prices, do not hesitate to get in touch with our team. We can talk about the current support on offer for businesses and provide information on business smart meters for even closer monitoring of your business energy usage.

The energy price cap is set by Ofgem. Ofgem, as you may already know, are an independent national regulatory body who oversee the gas and electricity markets. The cap itself is a limit set by Ofgem that determines the maximum amount of energy suppliers are able to charge you for each unit of energy you use. This applies if you live in England, Scotland, and Wales. It came into place back in 2019 and has been used ever since to ensure that customers who are on default energy tariffs are treated fairly and are not disadvantaged by the energy market. Over the last few months the energy price cap has been a big topic of discussion. With the rising wholesale prices of gas prices, the energy price cap became a focal point. However, one thing to note is that there is no energy price cap for business energy, which has left businesses in far more uncertainty. Why does the energy price cap not apply to businesses? The energy price cap was an initiative to simply support domestic energy customers, this does not reach into the business energy sector. However, this does not mean that there is zero support for businesses with the rising energy costs. Currently, there are other government schemes in place or in the pipeline to support businesses during this time. The EBRS Scheme  The EBRS Scheme will be running until March 31st  2023. This is a government scheme that works to limit the wholesale price that suppliers pay to generators for energy. This scheme has enabled energy suppliers to support their business energy customers, during a time when wholesale gas prices are incredibly high and increasing. At D-ENERGi, we have touched on this in other blogs in further detail. The new EBDS Scheme Once the EBRS Scheme comes to an end in March 2023, the government have recently announced the EBDS initiative. This is the Energy Bills Discount Scheme which will run for a year from April 2023 through to April 2024. All non-domestic consumers in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland are eligible. Since wholesale gas prices  have lowered back to levels they were before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, these schemes have only ever been intended to be temporary. This new EBDS Scheme will work to continue to support businesses over the next 12 months, as they continue to navigate the volatile energy markets. For more information regarding the current support on offer for business energy customers, do not hesitate to get in touch with our team here at D-ENERGi.

With 2022 behind us, 2023 is here and there’s no doubt everyone will be curious as to what this year has in store. It’s been 3 years since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the world in an unprecedented way, followed by an energy crisis and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. It certainly may not feel like it has been that long since the following few years of unexpected twists and turns were written into the global history books, but here we are. As an energy provider, our focus is on the current energy crisis and the rising cost of living. For customers and businesses alike the hope is that 2023 will see a positive change. So, in this new article, we are talking about some of the predictions and forecasts that have come out of the sector for the next 12 months. Support for low carbon energy is likely to increase  Reaching net zero continues to become a focal point for governments, businesses and individuals across the globe. With the UK government being one of the first to lay out a timeline for achieving such targets, 2023 will play a focal role in the government taking actions in order to prepare the country for the changes required to achieve these goals. Investment into natural resources Thanks to a strong 2022 for renewables, with steady growth over the past 12 months, it is projected that interest from investors into renewable energy sources from natural resources may increase. However, the volatility of the market is currently the hurdle that could put a stop to this growth in 2023. There are several factors which cause challenges within the renewables sector, including the following: A lack of policies in place to support the renewables sector A lack of Infrastructure and installation is expensive Solar, wind, and other renewable sources of energy have to battle with the strong and historical fossil fuel industry, which does all it can to remain in the favour of governments. New technologies in the energy sector It’s not surprising that as we move further into the technological age, new technologies will be introduced to the energy sector. Two key areas predicted to be at the forefront of evolving technologies are hydrogen and battery energy storage systems (BESS). The use of hydrogen is being looked at in new ways, with the UK’s Hydrogen Strategy, which was launched in 2021, the government sees the use of hydrogen as one of the key ways to achieve decarbonisation in the country. With this strategy the government is providing lots of funding to financially support hydrogen projects. This is set to continue into 2023 and beyond, in conjunction with other projects and plans for achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Renewed interest in the nuclear sector  Following the impact the previous year has had on the energy sector, the UK government has expressed a renewed interest in the use of nuclear energy. The government has committed to an expansion of nuclear power in the UK with plans to reach 24 GW of installed nuclear power capacity by 2050. This means over the course of 2023 and onwards we will see the development of projects such as the introduction of a new governing body, Great British Nuclear and investment into nuclear plants. As these many points suggest, there is no doubt that 2023 will continue to be a challenging year for the energy sector. While prices continue to fluctuate, we are not out of the woods just yet, all the while the government will begin to push further for projects and innovations to move the country away from fossil fuel reliance.

Now we are settled into the new year, it may seem a little strange to look backwards rather than forward, but a year like 2022 can not be overlooked. Throwing many challenges our way, 2022 was a tumultuous year. The energy sector, in particular, battled the high waves of an energy crisis and a cost of living crisis, affecting energy providers, businesses and domestic consumers. Our review of 2022 gives a reflection of the year just gone, providing some insight into what impact this has had on energy consumption and prices. Afterall, sometimes you have to look back to lead forward. The energy crisis Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces back in February 2022, global gas supplies were impacted. This, and many other factors have led us to the point we are now. As the world recovered from the unexpected breakout of COVID-19, countries began facing shortages and increased prices for oil, gas and electricity, even back in 2021. This has placed us in a position where the price of oil hit its highest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis. The higher wholesale prices have placed energy providers into the difficult situation of having to raise their prices for both domestic and non-domestic energy customers. Ultimately, we have witnessed how the increasing energy prices have forced families into extremely vulnerable financial positions. Across Europe, in particular, the close ties to Russian gas supplies has created huge concern and discussion around the inevitable “cutting of ties” between major European countries and Russia, while homes and businesses are at risk of dealing with potential gas rationing and blackouts. As we move into 2023, governments are looking to alternative energy sources to help relieve the incredible financial pressures this has placed on consumers and businesses over the last two years. We touched on this in another blog article several months ago, exploring the topic of Russian reliance. Energy trends from July – September 2022 Key to helping understand the market and to forecast for the next year, are the facts and figures to come out of 2022. The UK government recently released a report discussing the energy trends from Q3 (July-September) of 2022. Here are some key points to come out of said report: Fuel imports from Russia continue to drop as the UK stopped importing any Russian LNG (liquified natural gas) from March 2022 onwards. While imports of Russian oil have dropped to 0.4% from 10.2% in 2021. Energy consumption actually increased in the third quarter of 2022. It was up 4.1% from the year before, mostly due to an increase in the consumption of transport fuels. However, it is worth noting that domestic consumption did the opposite. This can be put to a few factors, but the government have based their findings on the assumption that people were spending more time outside, following the end of Covid-19 restrictions. Although, it is important to bear in mind that rising energy prices will have also had an effect on consumption in this period. Qatar remains the largest source of LNG in the UK, accounting for over 50% of imports. The last cargo of LNG from Russia came in March 2022. The UK saw an 18% increase in renewable electricity generation in Q3 2022. Most of this increase was generated by wind generation, thanks to higher wind speeds and new offshore wind capacity. Solar PV electricity generation saw a record high in the UK in Q3 2022. This can be attributed to the longer, warmer summer we experienced last year. Looking ahead into 2023 Upon reflection of the current energy crisis and the statistics produced by the government, it is clear that the energy sector is experiencing a shift. Both in production of electricity and gas but also changes in consumer behaviour. With renewables experiencing a positive upward trend, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that such sources of energy may be the desirable option for governments. Not only because capacity for the generation of renewables is increasing, but also because of the goals in place to reduce carbon emissions over the next few decades.

With a GDP of over $3 trillion, the UK produces a huge number of products and services. As such there are a wide range of industries working throughout the country, all of which contribute to the economy but also have an impact on the environment. Currently, the services industry dominates the UK economy, making up almost a third of our country’s GDP. The services sector is made up of retail, hospitality, professional services, business administration and finance businesses. Coming closely behind is the manufacturing industry which contributes so greatly to the economy that it currently places the UK as the ninth largest manufacturing nation in the world. With such large industries dominating the economy, it is no surprise that these industries are some of the largest energy consumers across our island nation. Below we have taken a closer look at just how much these industries rely on energy, reviewing their consumption figures and ranking them accordingly. Here are the top highest energy consumption businesses in the UK.   Top highest energy consumption businesses 1. Goods and services industry As well as being the largest industry in the UK, the goods and services sector is also the largest consumer of energy in the UK. According to statistics from 2019, the industry which includes retail, used more than 14,000 Ktoe. Ktoe stands for kilotonnes of oil equivalent, which is a standardised measure of energy. This figure indicated that the goods and services industry made up for 15% of total energy consumption in the UK throughout the year 2019. 2. Manufacturing The manufacturing sector is the second largest consumer of energy in the UK. Manufacturing businesses are responsible for producing products such as textiles, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals and more. As a result, this industry requires huge amounts of energy to power their production processes. This, therefore, should not come as a surprise to many. In 2018 the manufacturing industry used a huge 10,493 kilotonnes of oil equivalent energy throughout the year. 3. Public Administration Another non-domestic sector of the country with high energy consumption rates is public administration. Those organisations working in public administration are responsible for carrying out the day-to-day duties of running a country and as such require massive amounts of energy to do so. Statistics from 2019 show that businesses and organisations in this sector used a total of 5,579 ktoe of energy. Shifts in energy consumption in recent years Although energy consumption still appears to be incredibly high amongst UK businesses, there has been an obvious decrease in the total energy consumption of such sectors in recent years. In a report created by the Department of Energy & Climate Change, statistics from between 2006 – 2012 were used to indicate the shift in energy consumption trends amongst non-domestic buildings used by businesses. A summary of the key facts and figures has highlighted that between these years the consumption of both electricity and gas fell by 12%. Noting the significant decline in usage in factories, restaurants and shops. If you’re ready to find the right business energy supplier to help reduce your energy bills, get a free, no-obligation quote, visit our get a quote page. Check out our blog for tips on how to reduce large business energy consumption.