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Don’t think P272 affects you? Why all businesses should take a smarter approach to consumption

If your business energy meter falls into profile class 03 or 04, your business won’t be caught by current P272 legislation and for the moment your bill will continue to be settled on a non-half hourly basis. This might seem like justification for ignoring legislative changes and paying little or no attention to the ongoing rise of the smart meter. However, savvy business leaders will recognise that the changes brought about by P272 are in fact just one part of a larger energy puzzle, designed to provide long term sustainability and security of supply for UK businesses and domestic users alike. It’s time for all businesses to sit up and take notice, regardless of size or profile class.

Make changes now for short and long term benefits

Whilst smaller, less energy intensive businesses won’t have anything close to the energy requirement of their larger counterparts, they may nonetheless see a large proportion of their annual running costs attributed to energy consumption. With a changing energy infrastructure, higher dependency on more intermittent renewable sources of power, and energy costs on the rise, it makes sense to get informed and ensure your business can benefit from the transformation that is taking place. Reassessing your consumption and implementing efficiency measures now could not only reduce your bills and make a significant difference to your bottom line, it will also make sure that you stay in complete control of your energy budget when half hourly settlement eventually reaches your business.

Smart meters are coming – be prepared

The smart meter rollout will eventually be extended to reach all profile classes, also reaching domestic users throughout the UK by 2020 under current Government plans. When half hourly settlement reaches smaller businesses, there will be many more things for them to consider: such as the time of day at which energy is consumed, and the new non-commodity costs they will be obliged to pay – for the maintenance of their meter and collation of the data it generates. Those businesses who have a firm grasp of their energy usage patterns and have already shifted consumption to less expensive non-peak times and trimmed away the wastage, will have a head start when the changes come. Failure to prepare could mean that your business is hit with a much larger bill, especially if the bulk of your energy consumption happens during peak hours.

Taking energy seriously

Ofgem have made it clear that P272 is something which all energy suppliers should be taking seriously, by publishing an open letter dated 28th November on the obligations and mitigations of the scheme [view it here]. As the smart meter roll-out gathers pace, there are things your business can do to ensure that your business is ready and that the whole team takes energy efficiency seriously. As well as the longer term benefits this will bring, there are immediate savings to be made and it works best when the whole team is on board! Why not begin with an energy audit (help is available if you need it) and then appoint Energy Champions across your business, to make sure that identified opportunities are followed up?

For help and advice on energy efficiency and how smart metering will affect your business, please get in touch. We’ll be happy to help.

Sustainable Energy First, has acquired Inenco.


The acquisition brings together two businesses with one common objective;
to make truly renewable
energy more accessible to businesses of all sizes helping them achieve their Net Zero targets.

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