A new survey carried out by Npower shows that British businesses lack confidence in the government’s energy policies. Nearly 60% of businesses surveyed felt that the energy policies unveiled by the Government did not reflect industries actual needs.
A further 62% also expressed doubt over the future energy policies that are planned by the current government. This includes the Governments Electricity Market Reform, which aims to move the United Kingdom towards a lower carbon future.
According to the survey’s findings, UK companies are not happy for their existing energy bills to increase so that low carbon energy solutions can be funded; more than 80% of those interviewed stated that the cost of energy is the most important issue for their business, while only 41% said that a low carbon future was their priority.
More than 25% said that they would not welcome their energy bills increasing to help fund lower carbon initiatives, while another 30% stated that it was unlikely that their businesses would be prepared to pay extra for the cost of low carbon solutions.
Wayne Mitchell, head of industrial and commercial at npower, commented:
“This survey has revealed just how sceptical businesses are by the effectiveness and impact of energy policies – the very policies that are going to have far-reaching and long-term impacts on their businesses. As political parties consider their energy manifestos, there is a clear case here for Government and the wider energy industry to work together to better educate businesses about the importance of these policy initiatives in securing the UK’s energy future and the competitiveness of UK plc.
“The cost of energy bills remains the key issue for business leaders. That’s why we are committed to working with businesses across a wide range of sectors to help make their energy budgets as affordable as possible. What we focus on is the long term; we work with our customers to drive down consumption by increasing knowledge of the changing policy landscape and implementing energy solutions.”
Businesses also raised concerns over the Government’s Contracts for differences Initiative. The initiative pays companies a set amount for implementing the use of low carbon technology, however, the majority of businesses expressed concerns over this when it was revealed that the plan would cost UK companies more in energy bills.
The survey was conducted at the same time that Npower launched the 20% Imperative that offers advice to businesses on how they can save money on energy bills.