Yesterday LGE’s Director of Operations & Trading, Dave Loveday, and LGE’s Head of Trading & Risk Management, Tim Partridge, attended the Energy Live Consultancy Conference in London. Covering topics from TPI regulation to policy issues, net zero opportunities, energy market trends and growth and technology for TPIs, the conference had something to say on all the issues facing the energy consultancy sector. Here’s everything they learnt and discussed at the event:
Introductory talks highlighted issues that the energy sector has recently faced, from Iberian power outages to the substation fire at Heathrow Airport. These events and the consequences underscored the importance of investment in national grids of the future, that are resilient particularly in the face of increasing global temperatures caused by climate change.
Ofgem then highlighted their concerns of low consumer confidence with energy suppliers and brokers which had been found through research. Policy and TPI regulation was the clear issue of the day. However, the government must give approval for a regulator to be created and with Ofgem also not advancing the TPI Code of Conduct (due to a lack of authority that can only be in increased with government support) the energy consultancy sector currently finds itself in a regulatory grey area. Ofgem and the industry awaits signals from the government on how to proceed, with a Code of Conduct potentially taking years of legislative rewrites and negotiations. The message from all concerned to the government is that the sooner the better on deciding how regulation of the energy consultancy sector can move forward, with any sector that awaits regulation to police itself may find itself in trouble.
LGE are proud to be a frontrunner in transparency of our fees and how our contracts work, with no hidden fees or clauses. Although these measures are undertaken voluntarily, LGE is very much in agreement with speakers at the event that tightened governance across the industry is required.
Talks from suppliers discussed how accurate and timely billing, alongside the net zero agenda were the central issues for them. The suppliers expressed that engagement with consumers and brokers would be central to this. Communication and two-way feedback will help shape products that are best tailored to consumer’s needs. Suppliers also stressed that quick wins for consumers on their net zero journey can be found through using data to make simple changes before undertaking larger projects. The Market Wide Half-Hourly Settlement scheme will help drive this by providing greater granularity to the data and help consumers comprehend their consumption levels & patterns.
For those consumers with larger consumptions and wanting to undertake energy efficiency projects, they have the potential to access loans and grants, and it is vital to research if funding is available to you for installing onsite renewable technologies, heat pumps and onsite generation. This is certainly something that LGE encourages its largest industrial clients to do.
Speakers at the event agreed with Dave & Tim that while the volatility experienced during the energy crises inflicted from conflict in Ukraine may not be seen again, swings in prices remain. The market has witnessed 20% movements during the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and this is before it enters the autumnal outage period getting ready for winter. It is for this reason that LGE believe it would be risky to leave your contract purchasing for Oct-25 too much longer!
A great time was had by all, we thank Energy Live News for hosting such an informative event and look forward to attending again!
