Businesses should be braced for higher energy bills as a bigger than expected increase in wholesale prices threatens to pile further pressure on already stretched budgets.
That’s the stark warning from one of the UK’s leading industry experts as firms nationwide monitor the fallout from the latest increase to the domestic energy price cap.
Callum Thompson, CEO of campaigning North East-based Business Energy Claims (BEC), believes gas and electricity price rises are inevitable at a time when firms are already preparing to absorb the cost of higher national insurance contributions.
And he feels businesses have been left hopelessly exposed following the closure of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and its short-lived successor — the Energy Bills Discount Scheme.
“Whenever the domestic energy price cap is increased it’s time for businesses to take stock and prepare for the worst,” admitted Callum, whose primary focus is to claw back thousands of pounds from mis-sold energy contracts.
“Although businesses aren’t directly affected by the domestic price cap, its fluctuations can have many indirect consequences.
“An increase in the domestic price cap is almost always an indicator of rising wholesale energy costs and of course that will ultimately affect employers.
“It’s likely that households facing higher energy bills will have to rein in their spending and we’ve already seen how that can affect businesses — especially those in the retail and hospitality sectors.
“And then there’s the issue of operational costs and the knock-on effect for growth.
“Without a price cap, businesses are more exposed to market volatility, making it essential to secure favourable energy contracts to manage expenses.”
Callum is keen for the government to reassess support for businesses after the Energy Bills Discount Scheme was scrapped by the Conservatives prior to last summer’s General Election.
And he worries that fluctuating wholesale energy prices continue to prevent long-term planning, put jobs at risk and curtail critical investment at a time when Labour’s narrative is to grow the national economy.
“Talk of a 6.4 per cent domestic energy cap rise is an obvious cause of concern but at least there is some kind of a safeguard in place for families,” added Callum.
“There’s nothing right now to protect businesses in the same way and surely that has to change?
“In the meantime we’re doing our level best to future proof businesses by digging into the details of contracts that could include hidden charges inserted by unscrupulous brokers.
“It’s increasingly clear that contracts have been mis-sold on a grand scale and we want to expose this practice and ensure businesses are paying a fair price for their energy — even if that price is rising.”
Visit businessenergyclaims.co.uk/start-your-claim/ to fight back against mis-sold energy contracts and start your claim.