Guest Post
by Robert Buckley
In the latest of our guest blogs, Robert Buckley, Director of energy consultancy Cornwall Energy tackles the evolution of the business energy market.
Energy supplier, GDF SUEZ Energy UK, recently hosted an event on business energy market where I discussed how the terms of trade for businesses have changed in recent years.
The period between 2004 and 2011 was tough for businesses, as gas and electricity prices more than doubled due to an increase in all cost elements. This is just one of the changes we have seen in the business energy market, but there are also a number other of factors to consider, which are contributing to its development:
- The UK has become gas import dependent, with wholesale prices becoming higher and more volatile.
- Policy regime has become more extensive and expensive.
- Supply competition has moved beyond the Big 6. There are now more suppliers active in business electricity and gas than for some years and the established major companies are now seeing more competition across all the markets they deal in.
- There has been some improvement in competition and products available to businesses looking to manage their energy costs, driven by a small number of suppliers, with contributions from TPIs (third party intermediaries, like energy brokers and comparison sites).
- There has been some consolidation among larger TPIs.
Crucially, we cannot avoid the fact that companies like Business Juice who use their expertise and contacts to help businesses make better choices for their energy contracts have stimulated a lot of the progress in the energy market for businesses.
While the work they do is unheralded alongside the big ticket initiatives from suppliers, generators and regulators, the access that they promote to genuine market engagement sets TPIs as a valuable player in the ever evolving business energy market.