By David Kipling, CEO – On-Site Energy Ltd

The hikes in energy costs on the past 6 months have been nothing short of game-changing. But are they just a spike or are they here to stay ?

At 25 March 2022, the Winter=22 forward energy wholesale price for electricity was 23.2p/kWh and gas 9.0p/kWh.  You need to add non-energy costs and taxes to these, so more realistically electricity will be over 30p/kWh and gas around 10p/kWh.  Looking out to winter 2024 electricity is still at 11 p/kWh and gas is 4p/kWh.  That means Winter 2024 is double what was the norm in the first half of 2021.

So the current “crisis” prices are unlikely to subside to pre-crisis levels, and if you do nothing about it, you are going to have to learn to live with levels at least 100% more than they were in 2021.  How is this going to impact your business or its ability to decarbonise ?

But you don’t have to settle for these prices.  The steps you can take are: (1) reduce consumption through energy efficiency measures and (2) utilise onsite generation to reduce the amount of energy you draw from the grid.

Typically averaged cost of solar PV over its life is less than 8p/kWh and CHP can save around £400,000 per annum per MW installed even with the projected gas prices. With savings like these, every business should be looking at these options.

If you are not sure where to start with energy efficiency measures or onsite generation, we can help. For qualifying companies, we undertake initial evaluations free of charge and can also provide fully funded solutions so that capex needn’t be a barrier. We can also ensure that what is being proposed aligns with your sustainability goals.

If you would like to discuss how to avoid these high grid costs and have a more manageable energy cost for your business, please contact David Kipling, CEO – On-Site Energy Ltd on 0151 271 0037 or email  david@on-site.energy (www.on-site.energy).