The new government has recently given an ‘energy price guarantee' to consumers. The government’s ‘energy price guarantee’ for businesses means that the price per unit of their energy usage will be capped. But this guarantee will only last for six months which is in contrast to the two years given to households.

It is very unlikely that those businesses that currently have a contract will be able to renegotiate on those terms when their current contract comes to an end. Many business energy contracts will come up for renewal on 1 October and it is unlikely that the government will do anything concrete about it by then. New contracts are unlikely going to be fixed as uncertainty persists in the energy sector. The inability of businesses to estimate their energy bills means that they will not be able to budget effectively and this will affect their cash flow.

The result of a recent poll by UKHospitality Lobby Group indicates that one in five (20%) business does not expect to survive the winter. This is mainly due to the energy crisis.

Liz Truss has hinted on supporting businesses in the hospitality sector. However, she has said that businesses should, in general, improve their energy efficiency measures. It is expected that further information on the energy package by the government will be unveiled in a mini-budget by the new chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng. The mini-budget is expected to be on 14 or 21 September. At the moment, the government's energy plan for businesses is unclear as it poses more questions than answers. In the long term, the government intends to negotiate with energy companies to reduce the price they charge for energy. In addition, the government intends to explore other avenues of increasing energy supply.

Other News

In the last two months the construction industry has witnessed a drop in activities. This is due mainly to global high prices in building materials caused by inflation. Workers in the construction industry are bound to face shortage of work for some time to come.