Big UK businesses should be doing something about energy supply themselves

The rate at which alarming articles highlighting the perilous state of our energy supply seems to be ticking upwards. The Times reports on a letter issued by the CBI who appears to have woken from its collective afternoon nap and realised that energy supplies are quite important for doing business.

The article quotes the letter, being signed by heads of some very big and very energy intensive businesses,  thus.

“UK industrial firms already pay higher electricity costs than EU competitors, and spare capacity on our grid is getting squeezed out as we phase out older power stations,” says the letter, which is co-signed by 18 executives from some of Britain’s biggest companies, including ScottishPower, Ineos, Tata Steel and BOC. “Getting the investment we need to address this requires clear leadership and stable policy from government. We need more of this in 2016.”

We love that last sentence. Something should be done! There was a time when the leaders of big businesses, on recognising a threat to their business, would do something about it. These days they just squeal for more government intervention, as if government involvement in energy supply hasn’t caused enough of a mess already. CEOs of big companies should be thinking ahead and making the big and important strategic investment decisions which secure the long term interests of their shareholders. That’s what they are paid their multi-million pound salaries for, not for writing whining letters to the papers asking for government to do stuff for them.

If your business relies on a reliable and low cost electricity supply and you like the idea of buying twenty five years supply at 5p a unit, give us call. It can’t be any less productive than writing to The Times demanding  that government does something.

Read the CBI whinge here.