The cost of energy continues to be a challenge for the business community. As much as commodity prices have reduced from the incredible highs of 2021, the overall cost of a business’s energy bill can still be significant.
At Leyton, we specialise in helping businesses with the non-commodity costs of energy. These charges are separate from the wholesale price of electricity and gas (i.e., commodity costs), covering a range of taxes that businesses must pay, which broadly fund the delivery of the UK’s renewable energy infrastructure and carbon reduction initiatives. Non-commodity costs in the UK include:
- Contracts for Difference (CfD)
- Renewables Obligations (RO)
- Feed-In Tariffs (FiT)
- Climate Change Levy (CCL)
These extra costs make up a big part of businesses’ energy bills, hitting sectors that use a lot of energy (e.g., manufacturing) the hardest.
As a business consultancy, our aim is to help organisations be as efficient as possible and take advantage of any available energy exemption schemes. One way to do this is to have an eye on the future. Unfortunately, non-commodity costs are growing more quickly than the cost of the energy itself – and there are potentially more charges on the way.
To help businesses prepare, we’ve put together a useful guide as to what new non-commodity costs may be coming down the line, which are likely to impact your energy bill.
Upcoming non-commodity charges
The Nuclear Regulated Asset Base (RAB)
The Nuclear Regulated Asset Base (RAB) is designed to support the construction and operation of new nuclear projects. The details of this scheme are yet to be ironed out, but this additional cost is likely to start appearing on your energy bill between late 2025 to early 2026.
EII Support Levy
One scheme that will happen much sooner is the EII Support Levy, which will start appearing on your bill from April this year. The levy funds the Network Charging Compensation (NCC) scheme, which went live in April 2024. At this stage suppliers have not decided how they will recover these fees, so this is worth keeping an eye out for. On top of these two schemes, a couple of others may see the light of day over the next year or so.
The Hydrogen Levy (Gas)
The Hydrogen Production Levy (Gas) is designed to support the development of low-carbon hydrogen, helping to improve the UK’s energy security. Legislation for the levy is still in the early stage of design, but it may be implemented as early as this year.
The Carbon Capture Subsidy
The Carbon Capture Subsidy is a proposed change to help support the development of Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) technology. The goal is to help the UK reach net zero, as well as also capitalise on the economic potential of becoming a world leader in CCUS development. Like the Hydrogen Product Levy, the Carbon Capture Subsidy is in the early stages of development, and it may take a couple of years before we see it come into effect.
How to prepare for non-commodity charge increases
While the benefits of decarbonisation are clear, these charges could add extra pressure on business finances at a time when costs are already rising.
Our advice when it comes to preparing for these additional costs is twofold:
1. Find out what you should be paying
Firstly, energy bills have lots of complexity and not all businesses should be charged for every cost. It depends on a number of factors but knowing what your business in particular should be charged is key – otherwise you could be paying more than you need for your energy use.
We recommend undertaking a bill validation process, to make sure that you’re accurately billed by your energy provider. By getting expert advice you can save a significant amount of money as well as a lot of time.
2. Take advantage of exemption schemes
Secondly, there are plenty of exemptions available for qualifying businesses, especially for energy-intensive industries. At Leyton, we can quickly assess your billing to let you know if you’re eligible for any valuable government compensation schemes. There are several schemes available, including the Energy Intensive Industries Exemption (EII), Climate Change Levy (CCL), and the Energy Intensive Industries Compensation (ETS).
How Leyton can help
Our Energy Tax Relief team will guide you through all the options for reducing your energy bill burden. We’ll help you to understand your energy spend and, if your business is eligible for relief, assist you in applying for valuable government compensation.
We also offer an end-to-end service, from auditing your processes to putting in place measures to make your energy usage more efficient, sustainable and profitable.
Speak to an energy expert today.
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