Over 60% of UK manufacturers are now considering generating their own electricity using distributed solutions – a 12% rise from 2019 – according to a survey by temporary power supplier Aggreko.
The company’s survey of 251 manufacturing companies found rising energy bills have significantly affected their margins and ability to remain competitive in the last two years. Three quarters said that the rising cost of energy is having a direct impact on their ability to remain competitive and 65% said they had experienced a power cut in the last 18 months.
Aggreko said the businesses were “lukewarm” about new funding for high energy usage businesses announced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Only 28% said they were “very confident” it would be of help. Aggreko noted that the scheme does not currently address the dwindling stability of grid connections and increased risk of power outages, meaning that the sector must contend with these challenges alone.
Chris Rason, managing director at Aggreko Northern Europe, said: “The rising cost of energy has long been a concern for the UK manufacturing sector, though recent events have escalated the scale of this challenge to entirely new levels. At this juncture, it’s important to re-evaluate how attitudes to on-site power generation might have changed in the last three years to ensure that manufacturers are equipped with effective means of navigating this crisis.”
The company said energy as a service (EaaS) contracts were a popular way of using on-sitw power as it removes the barriers of high upfront capital investment, but there were concerns that getting locked into such contracts could leave businesses exposed to high demand penalties from the provider. Aggreko has responded with a modular ‘hired energy as service’ model.