Shocking rise of energy charges revealed at EMEX

In a speech during the UK’s biggest energy event, EMEX, Martin Chitty, Director of Energy Analysis at cost management consultants PCMG, said: “Non Commodity charges, which include network charges and environmental taxes, now represent a huge 55% of your annual electric bill.”

According to Martin this trend will also show no signs of slowing in the future. He said: “Back in 2008 non commodity charges represented just 25% of the bill, now they are more than 55%.  In the next two years they could be as much as 65% of your final electricity bill.”

Non commodity charges are made up of a whole range of factors from energy taxes the provider has to pay to transmission charges, metering and account management. The charges have led to vast increases in energy bills. 

“Obviously depending on your business, these rises can have a huge impact on your energy costs,” he added.

“To pick just one example, we’ve been working with a hospital in North West England, which has seen a 73% increase in their electric bills since 2010 which has been driven by the increase in non commodity charges.

“There are things that can be done to mitigate the issue, including forensically auditing the charges billed to the customer to ensure that nothing has been overcharged.”

Martin was speaking on the second day of EMEX, which is the one of the leading energy events in Europe.

PCMG works for more than half of the FTSE 100, more than half of the UK’s 30 largest energy users and more than 90% of the UK’s largest telecoms carriers and in the past 18 months alone, the company has recovered £100 million for clients from all major sectors including IT & Communications, Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Public Administration, Healthcare, Utilities and Education.

Part of Ayming, which is Europe’s leading operating cost consultancy group, PCMG has achieved over £400m in refunds and savings for clients since 1993.