UKHospitality calls on Ofgem for urgent support

Trade body UKHospitality has recently called on gas and electricity regulator Ofgem to intervene in the non-domestic energy market as businesses struggle with costs and a looming reduction in government support. 

In a letter addressed to Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, UKHospitality has reinstated the pressing need for Ofgem to take suppliers to task for their “unscrupulous behaviour” towards hospitality. 

The hospitality trade body argues that 48% of businesses in the sector are struggling with energy bills fixed at record high prices and that since government support has diminished, this challenge represents a “terminal double-whammy” for the sector.

To face the struggles, UKHospitality is asking the government to instruct Ofgem on a series of matters, including enforcing the renegotiation of contracts signed between July and December 2022, enacting full regulation of the non-domestic energy market if suppliers are not willing to act and introducing a government-backed trade credit insurance scheme for sectors that suppliers perceive to be high-risk.

In the recent letter, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls wrote: “Half the businesses in our sector will be locked into extortionate prices as energy support is significantly reduced from April. This could have a potentially terminal impact on thousands of businesses that are simply unable to afford their bills.

“Without action, we believe the only alternative is to extend the Energy Bill Relief Scheme – either across the economy or for specific sectors – for a further three months.”