Act now or extend energy support – UKHospitality calls for urgent OFGEM intervention
March 6, 2023
Energy regulator OFGEM is being urged to immediately intervene in the non-domestic energy market as businesses struggle with extortionate costs and a looming reduction in Government support.
In a letter to Grant Shapps MP, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, UKHospitality has reiterated the pressing need for OFGEM to take suppliers to task for their unscrupulous behaviour towards hospitality.
If the Government is unable to do so, UKHospitality is calling for a three-month extension to the Energy Bill Relief Scheme for sectors recognised as energy intensive, and therefore vulnerable, and that hospitality should be among them.
Almost half of businesses in the sector (48%) are contending with energy bills fixed at record high prices during the height of the energy crisis between July and December last year. With Government support significantly diminished from April, this represents a ‘terminal’ double-whammy for the sector.
UKHospitality is urging the Government to instruct OFGEM to:
- Enforce the renegotiation of contracts signed between July and December 2022, penalty-free, with the support of deposits already taken.
- Enact full regulation of the non-domestic energy market if suppliers are not willing to act.
- Reset security deposits to reflect falling prices and increase business liquidity.
- Introduce a Government-backed trade credit insurance scheme for sectors that suppliers perceive to be high-risk.