Nine out of 10 managers fearful of electricity blackouts by 2015

The findings follows warnings by industry regulator OFGEM that the UK generating capacity is nearly at full stretch. With the planned closure of some coal and nuclear power stations, many businesses fear they could be facing blackouts by the winter of 2015.

The survey was published yesterday by the Major Energy Users’ Council (MEUC) and Power Efficiency, an energy services company which is part of the Balfour Beatty Group.

The report called Powercut Britain – Are the lights going out for UK business?’ is based on a survey of 129 companies, which included 10 per cent of the FTSE 100.

More than 90 per cent of businesses who were questioned as part of the survey believe that energy inflation poses a major threat to UK competitiveness.

Three-quarters of the respondents were aware of their obligations to report greenhouse emissions in their directors’ report.

One-third of the respondents said they did not have a clearly defined energy and carbon reduction strategy.

The Carbon Price Floor, introduced this year at £16 per tonne of carbon emissions, is a cost which 35 per cent of businesses said would need to be passed on to their customers, by increasing the prices of their products and services.

Nearly half of the businesses polled said it was a cost which will affect profitability, and one the business will need to absorb for the time being.

Andrew Bainbridge, chairman of the MEUC, said: “It is clear that big businesses are becoming increasingly alarmed by the energy perils they face and understand they must stiffen their resolve to actively manage and reduce their costs.”

Andy Wild, managing director of Power Efficiency, said: “This report highlights the complex issues facing business in the UK today and underlines why we believe the issue of energy management is moving out of the plant room and into the boardroom.

“It provides a compelling insight into why managing energy costs and securing security of supply will dominate the agenda of UK businesses wishing to remain competitive in the coming decade.”

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