Open Energy

The UK energy sector is facing unprecedented change as we seek to meet challenging carbon emissions targets and move towards a distributed energy system. This will require an extensive, and expensive, overhaul of the UK’s energy infrastructure, the costs of which will fall on tax and bill payers. These costs must be shared out equitably, balancing a variety of relative and sometimes competing opportunities and risks. 
However, previous research by FSB identified a number of areas where small businesses are disadvantaged in utility markets, compared to large businesses and domestic consumers. Many small firms are held back by a lack of expertise in purchasing energy, high opportunity costs of purchasing decisions, a perception that they have little to gain, and poor bargaining power. They lack market resources compared to bigger businesses, yet are provided with little market protection compared to domestic consumers. 
Smart meters are a microcosm of the wider energy investment landscape. By 2020, around 30 million households and businesses across the UK will have a smart meter fitted. However, simply installing this new hardware won’t automatically provide any benefits to customers. Instead, the benefits of smart meters will only be realised with the changes to the market, and the resultant changes to customer behaviours, that this technology empowers. 
Going forward, then, FSB wants to see a new, smart energy market that acknowledges a diverse customer base and enables smaller businesses to make holistic decisions. Business customers must be empowered to understand and choose what services they pay for, where they can find the best deal, where they can save energy, and where and how their energy is generated.
 In this context, therefore, it is absolutely critical that businesses and consumers – and those operating on their behalf – have timely and secure access to consumption and usage data.
 FSB is delighted to have worked with Fingleton Associates to explore this issue. This report follows similar work that Fingleton Associates carried out in the banking sector, which heavily influenced the move to Open Banking and the subsequent benefits this has brought to customers.
 This report helps to identify the necessary reforms needed in the energy sector, without which customers cannot make informed choices about their energy. Open data is the key to unlocking the potential of a smart, flexible and fair energy market.