Energy Update for Small Businesses

With the financial market in turmoil and businesses finding it difficult to obtain funding, the media focus has tended to ignore the energy sector in recent weeks. However, there have been some interesting and dramatic events taking place, all of which will have a major impact on small businesses.

The difficult trading conditions in the retail markets over the past 18 months have caused two suppliers to become insolvent, E4B and Bizz Energy. Bizz was the largest independent supplier to have been around for a long time, weathering the last wholesale price increase three years ago and expanding its business in the process. So their demise is a significant event and demonstrates the effect of the size and speed of these recent energy price rises. Those supply companies without their own generating resource have been particularly hard hit. They have had to try and hedge their requirements for 2, 3 or even 4 year fixed price contracts with their customers in an ever rising market. We may be reluctant to shed many tears for them but in the longer term it means less competition, and that is bad news for SMEs.

More bad news is the way in which complaints about energy suppliers are now handled and how redress might be obtained. Energywatch ceased to exist at the end of September……….. 

Click here to download the full press release…..