Through Energy Live News’ partnership of the UK network of Energy Clubs our members have been sharing insight into the challenges and the activities they’re focused on.

Energy Clubs provide a safe space for energy professionals to be brutally honest about the challenges they face and the outcomes they’ve shared may surprise you. To communicate, whilst protecting our members’ confidentiality, we’ve grouped feedback into three key themes.

• Steadying the ship
• Changing the message
• Maintaining the paperwork

• Steadying in the ship

Whilst the Brexit mess throws a shadow of uncertainty over the UK economy, imports become expensive and profit margins squeezed, the role of the energy professional’s importance to lock down profit has never been greater.

Energy professionals know there’s no such thing as a ‘fit and forget investment’. Every investment made needs maintaining, protecting and monitoring. To that end, the drive to tighten internal controls, closely monitor meter readings and ensure value from facilities management providers has taken centre stage.

This is no time for energy consumption slippage.

• Changing the message

The move to a low carbon energy system sheds an exciting light on our industry. The rise of Demand Side Management, Battery Storage and Electric Vehicles all provide new solutions for energy practitioner to meet their carbon reduction goals.

Whilst exciting, these solutions require fresh messaging to the boardroom as to their objective. Traditional short term ‘spend to save’ messaging needs to adapt into an ‘invest to protect’ message, sighting long-term business security.

Messaging needs to hedge against the future, with rising energy and non-commodity costs. Understandably, selling a long-term message is no easy task, whilst the country doesn’t know what we’re doing next week, let alone next year.

• Maintaining the paperwork

Market noise suggests Carbon reporting is a significant issue for UK energy professionals. Whilst it’s certainly on the horizon and many do attend the Energy Clubs to debate legislation, members suggest that it’s business as usual.

ESOS Phase 2’s largely a re-run, Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting’s light touched and the Carbon Reduction Commitment is ending, so whilst these tasks must be done, many have the skills to complete and no one is losing sleep over the paperwork.

Haydn Young

Haydn is an independent energy management expert and founder of www.theenergyclub.org. If you are an energy end user you can register to attend a club for free.