British retailers unaware of imminent P272 energy legislation

More than 80 percent of British retailers are unaware of the upcoming P272 energy legislations, which will change how energy is measured and charge for many large and small businesses across the UK.

According to a new survey by Npower, 81 percent of British retailers had not heard of P272, which mandates that all monthly billed electricity meters must be settled on a half-hourly basis from April 1, 2017, and this figure was even greater amongst larger companies, those with over 500 employees.

When asked to speculate as to what P272 might be, some responses included a chemical compound (15 percent), a type of sweetener (5 percent) and a space exploration project (2 percent).

P262 aims to give bills based on more accurate data, to benefit both customers and the energy industry. However, nearly seven in ten businesses surveyed were unaware of any cost implications, and 55 percent of respondents said they weren’t sure how many meters their business had.

The research reveals that on average, customers who move to half-hourly meters can expect to see an average increase of 230 pounds per year per energy meter, and at most 429 pounds for the same period. This means that a retailer with 500 sites could potentially experience an average increase of 115,000 pounds during its first year.

However, more than half of British retailers responded that they thought half-hourly metering would allow them to have better control over their energy consumption.

Wayne Mitchell, director of markets and innovation for Npower business solutions, said: “We fully support the move to half-hourly metering, which is a critical part of ensuring British businesses are more engaged in their energy management. However, the changes required are highly complex and will involve suppliers making major changes to their ‘back office’ systems, at a time of great flux in the energy industry.”

Robert Jarrett, professional services and special projects director at BIRA, added: “We welcome the fact that Npower business solutions are educating the business community on these very important changes, as our members will be equally unaware of the impact they will have on their costs.

“Retailers are already under pressure to make ends meet, so it will be essential for them to react in the right way and to manage their energy usage more efficiently going forward, to mitigate any additional costs that will arise. Whilst we can understand the logic behind the changes being proposed we do wonder if Ofgem has given sufficient consideration to the impact on businesses and to maximising the awareness of this change. BIRA is able to provide guidance to its own members on this subject.”