The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Energy UK have released a new blueprint that they say will help reduce energy costs for thousands of UK businesses.
Its recommendations include removing certain levies such as the Renewables Obligation (RO) and Feed in Tariff (FIT) from all businesses, creating a publicly funded ‘Energy Transition Funding Scheme’, raising non-domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards and supporting SMEs with advice and support through a new Business Energy Upgrade Scheme.
Anthony Ainsworth, chief operating officer (COO) at nBS, who is a contributing member of the Taskforce, says:
“UK businesses face some of the highest industrial energy costs in the world, severely impacting competitiveness. Energy has been named as the top risk year-on-year in our Business Energy Tracker, and, while wholesale prices used to be the main driver, in more recent times, non-commodity costs - including the system, network and policy charges businesses pay to support the clean power transition - have taken centre stage.
“Our most recent report highlighted these concerns, with 49% of organisations expecting their non-commodity charges to rise by 25% or more and 97% worried about the cost impact of delivering the low-carbon energy transition. In addition, data from our industry-first Energy Cost Calculator showed that this could be higher for many businesses, revealing an average projected increase of 84%.
“These costs are high but have yet to peak, which is why we are proud to be working alongside the CBI, Energy UK and other contributing organisations on this vital issue for businesses. The findings from our Business Tracker were used as evidence when the Taskforce was announced in February, showcasing the scale of concern expressed by UK businesses.
“Alongside other members, we have a clear message: the UK’s businesses understand the benefits of clean power, but costs that they can’t control are impacting confidence, investment and competitiveness. To put it into context, it’s like trying to pay off a mortgage in five years rather than over 30 years.
“The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will provide some relief for the UK’s largest industrial energy users. However, businesses are telling us that there is still a need for some sort of support mechanism beyond the 0.4%% of UK businesses that this report identifies as qualifying for BICS.
“New thinking is needed. If some of the costs are shifted over the longer term, the system becomes more affordable while still delivering benefits for the future. Currently, the ‘pay now, gain much later’ approach will not work if businesses are to remain competitive.
“We are committed to continuing our work as part of the Taskforce, ensuring the voice of business is heard, particularly when the results of our 2026 Business Energy Tracker are released later this year.”