Ofgem, the energy regulator, must act quickly to enact recommendations to ensure businesses avoid another winter energy crisis, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has warned.
Responding to Ofgem’s non-domestic market review consultation, the trade body supported most measures put forward by the regulator. But it stressed the need for urgency if businesses are to avoid the threat of sky-high energy costs again this coming winter.
Energy costs still pose a serious threat to the viability and survival of many pub businesses. Fifteen per cent cite risk of failure in the next 12 months, with 95% of those flagging energy as a significant contributor to possible failure.
The BBPA is calling on Ofgem to listen to businesses and to implement proposed measures quickly to ensure they can regulate the non-domestic market effectively and fairly as soon as possible. The BBPA also says:
- It is essential that government supports Ofgem to implement the recommendations laid out in the non-domestic market review, to ensure the protection of vulnerable businesses. Entire sectors should not be held to ransom in the future.
- There should be parity between the protection of domestic and non-domestic users in the energy market.
- Ofgem must ensure that where policy options initially rely on voluntary measures for suppliers, there is also recourse to more binding mechanisms to ensure expected standards of conduct and behaviour are met and maintained.
“Just last week we saw Ofgem rightly step in once again for domestic users,” said BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin. “But we must not forget that thousands of businesses are still struggling with their energy bills, and this will only get worse as we head into the colder months.
“We support Ofgem’s recommendations, which are sound and sensible, but they mean very little if they are not implemented quickly to protect businesses from future energy price hikes.
“In turn, the government must also recognise that the severity of this issue has not gone away and ensure Ofgem has the power to regulate effectively now and protect our pubs and brewers in the future as well.”
