Take back control of your energy costs
Energy price shock – Again: How businesses can take back control
UK businesses are once again facing a sharp and immediate rise in energy costs. Recent analysis suggests electricity prices could rise by up to 30%, with gas costs increasing by as much as 80%, driven by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and tightening global supply.
For many businesses, particularly those renewing contracts this April, this isn’t a gradual increase. It’s an overnight jump in operating costs. Unlike households, there is no price cap, no safety net, and limited protection from volatility.
The reality for UK businesses
This latest spike exposes a fundamental issue in the UK energy market:
- Businesses are fully exposed to global energy price shocks.
- Contracts often renew annually (commonly April or October)
- Prices are driven by global gas markets
- Forward pricing can shift dramatically in weeks
- Smaller businesses have limited buying power or hedging capability
The result?
- Sudden material increases in operating costs
- Margin erosion
- Reduced competitiveness
- In some cases, there is a real risk to business viability
As industry bodies have already warned, this is not just a short-term issue; it’s a structural challenge for UK industry.
The key question: How do you de-risk energy costs?
Businesses typically have three options:
- Do nothing
→ Remain fully exposed to market volatility - Try to time the market
→ Increasingly difficult, even for large corporates - Take control of a portion of the energy supply
→ This is where solar becomes commercially compelling
De-risk your energy costs with solar
Why solar PV is now a financial decision
Commercial rooftop solar allows businesses to:
- Generate 30-40% of their electricity on-site
- Lock in energy costs at around 4–5p/kWh
- Reduce reliance on volatile grid pricing (currently c.20p/kWh and rising)
- Deliver 3-5 year payback periods (often faster during periods of high pricing)
- Benefit from the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), allowing 100% of the system cost to be offset against taxable profits in year one, improving cash flow and accelerating payback.
- Achieve long-term cost certainty (25+ years of generation)
This is no longer about “going green”.
It’s about cost control, risk management, and competitiveness.
It’s about cost control, risk management, and competitiveness.
When combined with first-year tax relief, many projects become significantly more attractive from a cash flow perspective than most businesses initially expect.
A simple way to think about it
Every business is already making an energy decision — whether they realise it or not.
- Buying 100% from the grid = accepting full exposure to volatility
- Installing solar = fixing a portion of your cost base long-term
Ultimately, why pay 20p/kWh or more when you could generate electricity for around 5p/kWh?
Doing nothing is now the highest-risk option
Historically, solar was often seen as something to revisit “next year”. This perspective has shifted. The risk now lies more in inaction than in taking steps to address energy costs.
What we’re seeing across the UK industry
Across sectors from manufacturing (plastics, metals, chemicals) through to food production, cold storage, and agriculture, businesses are:
- Re-evaluating previous solar decisions
- Accelerating projects that were “on hold”
- Looking for board-level clarity on ROI and risk
- Prioritising solutions that don’t disrupt operations
Significantly, many are now selecting finance-led solutions that are cashflow-positive from day one.
Final thought: This is about resilience
The current energy crisis is another reminder of a simple truth:
- You cannot control global energy markets - but you can control how exposed you are to them.
Solar PV provides significant value by making a sizable portion of your energy costs predictable, stable, and low.
Next step
If you’d like to understand how solar could reduce your exposure to rising energy costs, we can provide a no-obligation, desk-based assessment using your actual consumption data.
This will give you a clear view of:
- Potential system size
- % of electricity you could generate on-site
- Projected savings and payback
- Any constraints (roof, grid, or operational)
