The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic can be felt across the world in almost every facet of life. This is especially true for businesses, who have adapted to ever-changing rules, the consequences of which may be felt long after Covid-19 is in the rear-view mirror. And that includes energy, with the effects being felt beyond deeper than many may realise.
Consider, for a moment, how many employees have worked from home throughout 2020, and will continue to do so in the early months of 2021 at least. Because office complexes have been left mostly empty since the middle of March, the demand for widespread energy usage in business environments has been far lower over the past eight months. It may not have happened overnight, but managers quickly realised that if their rooms will remain empty for some time, or if they could only have half of their employees in the building at any one time, there would be no need to keep paying larger energy prices.
Alternatively, it could be that the managers have had no choice but to reduce their energy supplies as a way to keep their companies afloat. The Business Rate Relief grant would have gone some way towards covering energy costs early in the pandemic, but as the situation continued into the summer, autumn and now winter, struggling firms would have had to cut costs everywhere possible to make sure their businesses stay active. Energy usage would be one casualty of the required downsizing decisions made by managers.
Let’s not forget the energy suppliers themselves. Back in March, they were drawing up crisis plans if they were unable to maintain up to 80% of their teams to carry out their work on a daily basis. Eight months down the line, these organisations would have had to adapt to the unpredictable situation by making their own cuts to ensure profits remain in the green despite the impact of the pandemic. And while short-term decisions could ensure long-term sustainability, it could still take these energy giants a long time to return to their previous levels of financial strength.
Therefore, and unfortunately, this could have a knock-on effect on business customers. In order to maintain infrastructure and to rebound from such a challenging year, these energy suppliers would be likely to react to far lower demand by raising its prices. Therefore, the secondary fallout of the pandemic for the energy sector is that everybody could be paying far more money for far less energy in 2021, 2022 and beyond.
Add to that the reduction or slowdown in the development of major projects which could secure the long-term prosperity of these suppliers, and it’s safe to say that it could take years for these organisations to reach the stage of fully recovering from Covid-19. But this ultimately damages the energy sector as a whole, and while it will survive and thrive beyond the pandemic, it may fall onto everyday users to truly count the cost of energy caused by Coronavirus.
We can advise you further on how to avoid potential price hikes and save money on your energy for the remainder of the Covid-19 pandemic. Please contact us via or email enquiries@hpconnections.co.uk.