Autumn Statement Is Step In Right Direction Says FSB

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Kathryn

The Chancellor announced a number of measures to help businesses in the UK in his Autumn Statement yesterday and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said it was a step in the right direction.

At a time when business electricity prices and gas prices are increasing and businesses are struggling with high fuel bills the FSB said the Autumn Statement is a step in the right direction to help small businesses grow and create jobs.

One of the policies announced is a credit easing scheme which will make it simpler to underwrite bank loans to small businesses. Small companies with a turnover of less than £50m will qualify for the scheme.

The FSB said it was pleased to see that the Government had improved the seed enterprise investment scheme. This will provide greater relief on capital gains and income tax for those investing in small businesses. It means new businesses can avoid high street banks and find different forms of funding.

The FSB also welcomed measures to deal with increasing overheads which is of great concern to many small businesses. There will be an extension to small business rates relief which is designed to help small businesses manage their overheads.

The Chancellor also announced that the forthcoming 3p rise in fuel duty would be put off until August 2012. While the FSB said it was good news that the fuel duty increase would be delayed the problem still remained that small businesses would be hit with the rise in August. Utility Exchange reported in March that the FSB said rising fuel duty was holding back small business growth and called for a fuel duty stabiliser. The FSB has again called for such a measure to be introduced.

The National Chairman of the FSB, John Walker, said “Taken as a package, the announcements in the Autumn Statement address many of the concerns raised by small businesses and are therefore to be welcomed. The key now is for the Government to be consistent, and set to the task of translating these policy intentions into tangible actions on the ground. Targeting the rising cost of overheads is imperative to help firms weather the economic storm that could be heading our way, so measures to limit the rise in fuel prices and business rates are very welcome”.

Utility Exchange reported earlier this week that the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement would provide measures to help energy intensive industries. These businesses have been particularly hard hit by rising business gas prices and electricity bills and it’s been shown that similar industries in Germany have much lower energy bills.

Business Cuts Gas & Electricity Use To Slash Energy Bills

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Ollie

A Scottish based business cut its gas usage by 35% and electricity use by 11.5% last year and plans to cut its energy bills even more by 2013.

Based in Perth, Stagecoach, the transport group, said it plans to cut gas and electricity use by 2013 and cut its energy bills by £8 million.

As business electricity prices and gas prices increase it’s important that businesses look at ways of reducing their energy consumption and this is what Stagecoach has done. The company has used an energy management system made by Vickers Electronics. The system controls the heating and lighting in the garages.

As a result of this new energy management system the company cut gas usage last year by 35% and electricity consumption was cut by 11.5%. The company is now upgrading its energy management system and hopes to slash energy consumption further. It hopes to reduce consumption by 21.5%.

It isn’t cheap to reduce your energy consumption however and Stagecoach has spent £2.2 million on the initial system and now the upgrade.

The managing director of the UK bus division, Les Warneford, said “We are working hard to become an even greener business. The efforts of our staff, along with the Vickers energy management system, have delivered very good results for us through a marked reduction in energy consumption. We are pleased to be upgrading the system to help further reduce our carbon footprint at all of our depots across the UK and we will also continue to take steps to attract even more people on to our greener, smarter bus services”.

While cutting energy consumption the company has also slashed its carbon emissions by an estimated 58,000 tonnes.

Speaking from Vickers Electronics, David Hilton said “We are very proud of our long partnership with Stagecoach and the energy savings delivered. It is always gratifying to work with like-minded people who have a commitment to energy reduction for the benefit of the environment, and we are pleased that this can go hand in hand with commercial benefits”.

Small businesses can also reduce energy consumption by implementing some simple measures such as turning off lights when a room isn’t in use, turning down the thermostat by 1 degree, switching off computers and printers when they are not in use e.g. at the weekend and also turning off the heating at the weekend if the office is empty.

The other important factor is to compare business electricity prices and business gas tariffs. Don’t get rolled over into an expensive contract. Compare energy prices and then switch if you find a better deal.

Autumn Statement Set To Help Industry Meet Energy Regulations

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Emma

The Autumn Statement is set to provide heavy industry with measures to help meet energy regulations.

The Chancellor will deliver his Autumn Statement tomorrow and it’s believed that heavy industry will receive £250 million worth of measures to help meet new energy regulations.

The measures include compensation to help offset the Carbon Price Floor and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. These measures could reduce business electricity bills by between 5% and 10% for energy intensive industries which include those involved in steel and chemical manufacturing.

Of the £250m being made available by the Chancellor as much as £60m will be available as compensation for companies affected by the Carbon Price Floor. A further £50m will be available for those affected by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Chemical and steel firms have been pressuring the Government for help after figures showed that energy intensive industries in the UK pay significantly more than similar companies in Germany.

The manufacturers’ organisation, EEF, showed in October that business electricity prices and gas prices for high energy users in the UK are currently 10% higher than in Germany and that this is set to increase to 15% once the Carbon Price Floor is introduced.

As well as compensation for businesses affected by the Carbon Price Floor and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme there will also be relief from the climate change levy. This relief will be available for heavy industries which have entered into climate change agreements. It had been expected to rise from 65% to 80% but it’s reported that it will rise to 90%.

The EEF had warned the Government that climate change policies were a threat to energy intensive industries and in October called on the Chancellor to introduce measures to help. A spokesman for the Treasury said “These measures are designed to ensure these industries can remain competitive despite the new legislation coming through”.

It appears the Chancellor has listened to these calls for help and is taking action.

OVO Energy Cancels January Price Increase

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Kathryn

The small independent energy company, OVO Energy, has announced that a proposed price rise will be cancelled due to a fall in wholesale energy costs.

The price rise was set to take effect in January but OVO Energy has cancelled the increase after a recent fall in wholesale gas prices.

OVO is a small fish compared with the Big Six energy providers, all of which have increased gas and electricity prices over the last couple of months. In comparison OVO has just 69,000 residential customers and has a policy of fair and simple pricing. Utility Exchange reported this week that British Gas plans to simplify its pricing by having just two tariffs. This is something companies such as OVO Energy and Co-Op Energy have been doing for some time.

The Managing Director of OVO Energy, Stephen Fitzpatrick said “We strive to offer our customers the lowest prices we possibly can. Since we announced the planned increase in our variable prices, on the 26^th October, wholesale costs have fallen. In response to this change in the market we’re delighted to announce that we will not go ahead with the planned increase. We continue to champion our Fair Price Pledge and we will do everything we can to ensure that our customers always get the best possible deal”.

Consumer Focus welcomed the news from OVO Energy. Audrey Gallacher from Consumer Focus said “Wholesale prices have been falling recently, and all suppliers should be looking at whether that provides an opportunity to bring prices down. A smaller supplier such as Ovo may be able to react more quickly, but it obviously can’t operate on the same economies of scale as its much larger rivals. If it can cancel price rises because market fundamentals change, it begs the question why can’t others”?

Govt Publishes Green Deal Consultation

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Ollie

The Government published its Green Deal consultation this week and Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, announced £200m worth of incentives.

The energy secretary, Chris Huhne, announced £14bn worth of private sector investment in the form of home energy improvements over the next 10 years. The Green Deal consultation has been published as part of the Energy and Climate Change Secretary’s Annual Energy Statement.

Chris Huhne also published analysis that homes will be, in the future, cheaper to heat and light than if the Government had not been following policies to keep emissions down and the lights on.

Explaining the Green Deal, Chris Huhne said it was intended to put consumers back in control of their energy bills and to banish “Britain’s draughty homes to the history books”. He said through private sector investment homes will become warmer, cosier and more efficient with no upfront cost.

The rising cost of energy bills is something most people are concerned about at the moment. Not only have domestic energy prices risen over the last year but business gas prices and electricity tariffs have increased. Consequently, it seems the Government believes that people will be keen to make their properties more energy efficient although it’s unclear whether people will take up the offers in large enough numbers.

Making properties more energy efficient and less draughty will mean they use less gas and electricity so in theory gas and electricity bills will be cheaper.

There are allegedly 14 million draughty homes in the UK, some of the least energy efficient homes in Europe. The £200m announced by Danny Alexander is set to help kickstart improvements. This cash is designed to encourage people to take part in the energy efficiency scheme early and give confidence to business. However it’s unclear how this cash would be delivered. It could be in the form of discounts on council tax, cashback or reductions in stamp duty when a property is sold.

Mr Huhne said “The Green Deal is also a massive business opportunity for firms up and down Britain, helping to power the economy and creating jobs. From one-man bands and local authorities, to the big supermarkets and DIY stores, we want as many providers getting involved as possible because that’s what will give consumers the best deal”.

The Green Deal framework will launch in October 2012 when homeowners will be able to get a loan for energy saving measures. It won’t be until then that we know how successful the scheme will prove to be.