Energy Cost-Cutting: What the 2014 Budget Means for Your Business

I’m guessing you’ve already seen plenty of media coverage detailing every aspect of this year’s Budget. A pint of beer will cost a penny less; anyone lucky enough to have savings will pay less tax on them. Businesses will get higher tax-free annual investment allowances and more tax credits for research and development.

And business energy costs will be lower, they say.

Let’s look at that last one more closely, shall we?

To keep businesses’ fossil-fuel energy bills down, Chancellor George Osborne is freezing some of the levies on business energy consumption, while exempting high-consumption companies from levies and financial penalties intended to keep them energy efficient and eco-friendly.

Viewed from a purely financial perspective, this is a benefit for businesses who’ll pay less for their energy. But it also encourages the view that high energy consumption is nothing to worry about, and that’s far from the truth.

Only the most energy-intensive industries will benefit from the cuts and freezes on “green taxes”.

Most small and medium-sized businesses will simply find that improvements to the UK’s energy infrastructure take longer to materialise, as the cost of inefficiency is artificially lowered for energy producers and distributors.

Instead of hoping for the government to reduce your energy bills, do something about them yourself by making your business more energy efficient. From teleworking environments to redesigned equipment rooms, there are many direct ways you can affect your energy costs.

360ict provides fully managed IT services and business support to SMEs in central London and the south-east. Call 0208 663 4000 for free advice to make your business run like clockwork.