Blog Post
Declining Business Energy use is hitting Energy Suppliers and Cop26 Postponed to 2021
Matt Olney • April 2, 2020
The shut down of businesses up and down the country as a result of the Coronavirus is starting to impact energy suppliers.
The owners of British Gas, Centrica have announced that its non-customer facing staff will see their pay frozen and will take action to slash its costs by £400 million.
The group said that it is seeing increased demand for domestic energy usage as many consumers are forced to stay at and work from their homes, but it added that the huge shrink in business usage is proving significant.
With countless businesses temporarily shut down and with no clue as to when the current crisis will end many energy suppliers are feeling the pinch to their incomes.
Centrica also announced that as well as a pay freeze, it would also be deferring all employee bonuses, halting its spending on all non-essential projects and scrapping its shareholder dividend payout.
Even prior to the Coronavirus outbreak, Centrica had complained that Ofgem’s energy price cap was heavily impacting its finances and last year it had axed bonuses for its executives.
Customers struggling to pay
Centrica warned that the number of consumers falling behind with their payments is set to increase as domestic and business incomes are impacted.
The company has also halted all non-essential visits to customers during the crisis in order to protect its staff.
Chris O’Shea, interim group chief executive at Centrica, said: “As the scale and length of the crisis unfolds, it is becoming increasingly clear what a vital role so many of the Centrica team perform to keep our communities warm, safe and supplied with energy.”
COP 26 Climate Change Conference postponed due to Coronavirus
The Coronavirus pandemic has claimed another event after thousands of others have already been cancelled.
The COP26 UN climate change conference that was due to take place in Glasgow in November has been postponed until 2021 as a result of the virus.
Many environmentalists had called COP26 ‘vital’ to the fight against climate change following the disappointed of last years COP25 in Spain.
COP26 President-Designate and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma said: “The world is currently facing an unprecedented global challenge and countries are rightly focusing their efforts on saving lives and fighting COVID-19. That is why we have decided to reschedule COP26.
We will continue working tirelessly with our partners to deliver the ambition needed to tackle the climate crisis.”
Further Reading
Coronavirus – The opportunities and challenges faced by Energy suppliers
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