Energy security is pushing UK businesses to reduce grid dependence

Energy security for moderate-to-intensive power users has shifted from an ESG or procurement issue into a commercial resilience necessity. For many UK businesses, power is no longer an operating cost to be managed through periodic tariff negotiations. Energy is now a margin, investment and business continuity risk, and a boardroom priority for higher-consumption businesses.

These pressures are particularly acute in the UK. Non-domestic electricity prices have risen sharply since 2021 and, while they have eased from the 2023 peak, they remain well above pre-crisis levels and among the highest in Europe. For medium-sized UK businesses, 2024 prices were roughly 86% above the EU14+UK median and close to double the EU median, according to Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Eurostat data. The latest government Quarterly Energy Prices (QEP) data also shows prices remain above the EU average.

The problem is structural as well as cyclical. UK electricity prices remain heavily exposed to gas-fired generation, which sets the wholesale price, while network charges and policy levies increase the final cost paid by businesses and households. Consequently, cheaper renewable generation does not always translate into lower end-user electricity prices from the grid, even when pressures on global fuel markets ease.

UK businesses are therefore looking for a more durable energy cost-control strategy after enduring repeated price volatility, geopolitical supply shocks and stubbornly high costs. Energy price volatility affects margins, customer pricing, investment plans, competitiveness and business continuity. The same pressure extends to public-sector bodies, where fixed budgets can make large swings in energy costs difficult to absorb. For councils, transport authorities, schools, healthcare estates and other public assets, energy resilience is also a budget-planning and service-continuity issue.

Energy-intensive businesses — across food manufacturing, industrials, logistics, real estate and other SMEs and mid-market operators — are increasingly investing in self-generation and direct-supply solutions. Full grid reliance can become a structural risk where businesses remain exposed not only to price volatility, but also to grid constraints, connection delays and uncertainty over future supply costs.

UK businesses are increasingly turning to battery storage, private-wire, direct-supply and other behind-the-meter models to reduce grid exposure, improve cost visibility, and strengthen operational resilience in how power is sourced and financed. This elevates energy within the business from a utility bill to a funding, structuring and risk-management priority. Energy investment can affect expansion plans, site selection, working capital, capex budgets and the opportunity cost of other competing investment priorities.

Businesses do not always need to own generation assets themselves. Third-party providers can develop renewable, biomass or waste-to-energy projects near clusters of energy-intensive users and sell power through long-term direct-supply arrangements. For example, in March 2026, Transport for London (TfL) appointed SSE Energy Solutions to develop solar infrastructure that will supply renewable electricity directly to London Underground. Under the private-wire model, SSE Energy Solutions will invest in, design, build and operate rooftop and ground-mounted solar installations, with the structure supported by a power purchase agreement (PPA) that requires no upfront capital investment from TfL.

Xela Energy and IBM further illustrate the model. In July 2025, Xela Energy received full planning permission for a 5MW solar farm that will deliver locally generated renewable electricity directly to IBM’s Hursley data centre facility near Winchester. Xela Energy will develop, own and operate the solar installation, supplying IBM with local power, traceability and price certainty via a private-wire arrangement. The solution reduces dependence on the 

UK’s constrained electricity grid, while improving visibility over long-term supply and cost.

Third-party solutions can remove upfront capex requirements, shifting due diligence toward asset ownership, funding structure, planning risk, power contract terms, cost savings distribution and long-term pricing protocols in response to changes in demand, prices or site requirements. This complexity means early specialist advisory input is often valuable. 

These models can also strengthen the business case for sustainability where emissions reduction is embedded in a strategy that also delivers cost reduction, energy security and business resilience. Sustainability is most compelling where those priorities reinforce each other, rather than being anchored to abstract net-zero targets. The strongest corporate energy strategies are therefore those that align lower emissions with cost visibility, resilience and funding viability.

As energy moves up the corporate and public-sector agenda from a utility bill to a capital and risk management factor, organisations need to evaluate their optimal supply structure. BTG Eddisons can help clients work through those decisions early, assessing whether self-generation, battery storage, private-wire or direct-supply models are commercially viable, fundable, insurable and practical to deliver. Our teams help with site appraisal, project timelines, cost-benefit analysis, grid-connection considerations, direct-feed or sleeving options, where electricity is transferred through the grid from the point of generation to the site where power is required. BTG Eddisons prepared a feasibility study for Bradford Council covering potential solar-farm schemes at multiple sites. Our teams also assess funding requirements and procurement routes, drawing on their property and feasibility expertise where relevant. 

Businesses, councils and other asset-owning organisations that assess their forward energy requirements proactively will be better positioned to manage volatility, grid constraints and connection delays. In that context, energy security is now a boardroom resilience priority for moderate-to-intensive energy users that depend on reliable, affordable and more controllable power.