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Considerate Group: Help with understanding the energy crisis

May 6, 2022

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Isaac Pelham-Chipper

The prices of electricity and gas have risen dramatically over the last year, having a knock-on impact on consumers across the UK and Europe. As a sector that consumes its fair share of energy, hospitality businesses now have another challenge to overcome in addition to the lingering negative effects of COVID-19.

Why are prices rising in the UK?

The UK is one of the most gas-dependent countries in Europe, with the majority of its buildings heated, and almost half of its electricity produced, by burning natural gas. The country also uses a lot of oil, the 15th most of any country in the world.

Given the UK’s dependency on gas and oil, prices are subject to national and international factors that affect the demand and supply. Unfortunately for consumers, several price-rising factors have coincided, resulting in the current energy crisis.

The first main factor was the cold winter of 2020/21 in the Northern Hemisphere, during which more oil and gas was used than normal, depleting reserves and putting pressure on resources. At around the same time, the UK also suffered from lower-than-average wind speeds during 2021. As wind power generates around 24% of the UK’s, and 14% of Europe’s total electricity, there was significantly less electricity than forecasted, adding further strain.

These causes are now being exacerbated by the uncertainty around the supply reliability of oil and gas from Russia because of the Ukrainian War, adding further volatility to the market.

What’s the impact?

The combination of these factors has led to a rise in wholesale energy prices of 400-800% from March 2021 to March 2022 [Figure 1]. This has had a drastic impact, with 40 energy companies going bust and the prices of new energy contracts skyrocketing in price to reflect the market movements.


Figure 1 – Annualised Wholesale Electricity Costs, UK

What can my business do about it?

Some businesses have been lucky, or perhaps very shrewd, and find themselves in long-term, fixed contracts, meaning their prices are fixed until a specified date. But what about those needing to renew soon or already out of contract? How can businesses manage rising costs and navigate their way through the energy crisis? Considerate Group recommends taking two key steps to start:

1. Monitor and manage your energy consumption.

One of the first things Considerate Group do when working with a client is to help them understand how much energy they use. Without knowing exactly how much energy you consume, its difficult to know how to become more efficient and spend less.

The easiest way of measuring energy consumption is by utilising an energy management platform to manage all your data in one place, such as Considerate Group’s platform, Con-ServeTM. A data management platform can automate the collection and analysis of real-time energy data, enabling you to quickly identify inefficiencies that impact the performance of your business.

The alternative to using a data management platform to automate data collection and analysis is to do it manually. Ensure that meters are read on a regular basis (the more often the better) and data is collected in a spreadsheet so that it can be analysed.

2. Speak with an expert

To get clarity on what your options are regarding energy contracts, speaking with an expert will give you unprecedented insights. Energy consultants know the market better than anyone and can give you advice and support to help you manage the crisis as effectively as possible. At Considerate Group, we’ve partnered with eEnergy, a leading green-energy and net-zero energy consultant for UK businesses, to help our clients do just this.

If you’re interested, please get in touch with Isaac Pelham-Chipper to arrange a chat with an eEnergy expert and start planning your way through the energy crisis.

Next steps

Once you understand your business’s energy consumption and know how to best traverse through the crisis, you should look at how you can invest in upgrades, such as LED lighting and solar power, to further reduce your consumption in the long-term.

To find out more about any of the topics discussed, get in touch with Considerate Group at info@considerategroup.com or on + 44 (0) 20 3865 2052