Researchers from the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) have analysed the UK’s new £2 billion industrial strategy, which aims to cut energy bills for around 7,000 large, energy-intensive firms by removing green levies and reducing network charges. The policy is intended to boost competitiveness and support the shift to electrification in heavy industry as part of the UK’s net-zero goals.
However, Dr Sam Hampton, Senior Researcher, and Dr Jan Rosenow, Energy Programme Leader, caution that the focus on big business risks leaving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) behind. With energy prices still high and little targeted support, many SMEs remain vulnerable. Without wider reform of energy pricing and investment in efficiency measures for smaller firms, the benefits of the strategy may be unevenly distributed—both economically and environmentally.
Read their article in The Conversation: UK plan to cut energy bills for industrial firms threatens to leave small businesses out in the cold