As the winter months increase demand for energy usage and bring with them the risk of energy supply disruptions, a new survey from SEFE Energy reveals reliable supply tops price as the key consideration for UK businesses when selecting a new energy contract.
In the survey of 500 UK energy decision-makers across healthcare, retail and industrial sectors, 60% cited reliability as a key consideration when selecting an energy contract, closely followed by price at 58%. Price topped the list of considerations for energy decision-makers in France (70%) and the Netherlands (68%), who were also surveyed, making the UK an outlier among its European peers.
The cost of energy remains a concern for UK businesses. When asked about external impacts on their business, energy costs are cited as a key concern by almost half (45%) of the businesses surveyed, followed by the rising cost of labour (30%) and broader economic downturn (27%).
SEFE Energy supplies gas, electricity and low-carbon energy products to nearly 30,000 UK organisations. Katie Rees, VP Corporate Account Management at SEFE Energy, said, “Energy is a vital asset for so many organisations – from a business that needs to power equipment and maintain comfortable lighting and heating for office employees, or a steel producer that needs a constant baseload supply for energy-intensive heavy machinery. Energy suppliers need to build trust with their customers, that they can consistently meet their energy needs.”
Other key findings include:
External advice on energy efficiency in high demand; AI assistants a source of counsel
- Almost three-quarters (73%) of UK energy decision-makers surveyed feel they would benefit from more external advice on how to improve energy efficiency.
- Energy providers are the most popular source of guidance on energy products among these businesses (47%), followed by energy comparison sites (46%) – while 32% of UK businesses use an energy broker or consultant and almost a quarter (22%) say they use AI-powered assistants to get advice on energy products.
Reducing energy costs prioritised over emissions reduction in energy goals
- When asked about their energy goals for this year, reducing energy costs (49%), energy consumption (46%) and carbon emissions (36%) are the top cited objectives for UK businesses surveyed.
Majority looking to explore AI-powered energy solutions
- The survey points to an interest in the use of AI in energy management, as more than three in 10 businesses surveyed (35%) say they want to improve their understanding of energy consumption through data analytics, while the majority (63%) say they want to adopt AI-powered energy solutions this year.
Katie Rees added, “It’s so important that, as energy suppliers, we listen and act on feedback from our customers. These findings clearly show that reliability and price are front of mind for businesses when choosing the best deal for them and so suppliers must work to build trust that we can deliver on these fronts.
“As part of the SEFE group, we have a diversified long-term energy supply portfolio from a variety of sources, that allows us to deliver a secure energy supply to the businesses we service.
“It’s also encouraging that so many of the respondents want to improve their understanding of energy consumption through data analytics, as customers can save money by staying close to their consumption data. Put plainly, accurate data leads to transparent reporting, billing and invoicing, and ensures that energy costs are fairly calculated.”
For more information about SEFE Energy, please visit: www.sefe-energy.co.uk/
