A quick note from me (Josh):
Welcome to The George Briefing. Each week, my co-founder Lu and I use our tech-focused lens to go directly to the source of change in the UK energy market, the official publications from Ofgem and the UK Government. Our goal is to cut through the noise and deliver the key regulatory developments and changes that will impact your business's bottom line, all explained in simple, actionable terms.
This weeks developments are:
The 2027 Smart Meter Deadline: Why Your Next Fixed Contract Depends On It
Fed Up With Supplier Delays? Dispute Resolution Time May Be Slashed in Half
No More Guesstimates? A Small Rule Change Promises More Accurate Gas Bills
This Week's B2B Market Pulse
Hidden Gem Stories You Might Have Missed
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Department of Energy Security and Net Zero
Image source: Gemini / Meet George
The Spark: From 2027, your business won't be able to sign a new fixed-term energy contract unless you have a smart meter installed.
The details:
The government is consulting on making 'smart-contingent contracts' mandatory for non-domestic customers.
From 1st January 2027, energy suppliers will be prohibited from offering new fixed-term contracts to businesses unless they have, or agree to install, a smart or advanced meter.
Suppliers will be required to start communicating these changes to all business customers from early 2026.
A legally binding Consumer Protection Code will be introduced to protect businesses from potential risks associated with this mandatory switch.
Why it matters: This is the government moving from the 'carrot' to the 'stick' on business smart meters. For years, uptake has been voluntary and sluggish; now, they're making it a condition for accessing the most common and budget-friendly type of energy deal. For a business, this isn't just about new hardware. It fundamentally alters your procurement power. Refusing a smart meter post-2027 could mean being locked out of fixed contracts and forced onto expensive variable or default rates, directly impacting your P&L. This move makes smart meter adoption less about an energy-saving 'nice-to-have' and more about a core requirement for securing budget certainty.
What you can do:
Check your current energy contract end date. If it renews after January 2027, you will be affected by these new rules.
If you've been delaying a smart meter installation, contact your supplier to schedule one now to avoid being rushed into it during your next contract negotiation.
Ask your current supplier or energy broker about their plans for 'smart-contingent contracts' to understand how they'll manage the transition.
Department of Energy Security and Net Zero
Image source: Gemini / Meet George
The Spark: The government is proposing to cut the time it takes to resolve energy supplier disputes in half, giving small businesses a much faster and more powerful route to getting billing errors and complaints sorted.
The details:
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has launched a consultation on strengthening the powers of the Energy Ombudsman for small businesses and domestic customers.
Proposals include cutting the time a supplier has to resolve a complaint before it can be escalated to the Ombudsman from 8 weeks down to 4 weeks.
The Ombudsman would gain new powers to force suppliers to pay compensation if they fail to implement a ruling on time.
Crucially, the changes would give Ombudsman decisions statutory weight, making them legally binding on suppliers, though the new rules would not apply to complaints about energy brokers (TPIs).
Why it matters: What's the real-world impact here? For any finance or ops manager, time spent chasing a supplier over a billing error is an operational drag that hits the P&L. The current 8-week waiting period before you can even start the formal Ombudsman process often leaves a business's cash flow in limbo while a dispute over a large bill drags on. These proposals are a direct attempt to fix that power imbalance. By making rulings legally binding and adding penalties for non-compliance, the government is trying to force suppliers to take complaints seriously from day one, knowing a legally enforceable decision is just weeks away. It’s a significant step towards reducing the administrative and financial burden of supplier disputes for SMEs.
What you can do:
Review current supplier disputes: If you have an unresolved complaint that's approaching the current 8-week escalation window, diarise the exact date you can escalate it to the Ombudsman. Don't let it slide.
Question your broker's process: This consultation deliberately excludes TPIs (brokers). Use this as a prompt to ask your broker what their independent redress scheme is, as you won't be able to use this strengthened Ombudsman service for issues with them.
Shape the new rules: If your business has been impacted by a slow complaints process, consider responding to the government's online consultation before the 4th December 2025 deadline to share your experience.
The Guardian
Image source: Gemini / Meet George
The Spark: The government is quietly preparing to miss its flagship 2030 clean power target, prioritising short-term energy costs over its long-term green investment promises.
The details:
The government is considering abandoning its pledge to remove almost all fossil fuels from the UK's electricity supply by 2030 over concerns it will drive up energy bills.
The decision hinges on the upcoming renewable energy auction, where officials may commission less than the 8GW of new power required to hit the target if the price is higher than building new gas plants.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has publicly stated the government "won't buy at any price," signalling a shift in priorities from green deadlines to cost control.
Rather than publicly dropping the target, the government is expected to quietly miss it, a move that experts warn could damage investor confidence in the UK's renewables sector.
Why it matters: This is the classic political trade-off between short-term cost pain and long-term strategic gain, and it creates real uncertainty for business planning. While a government focus on keeping wholesale prices down might seem like a win for your P&L today, the signal it sends is deeply problematic. It tells the market that long-term infrastructure policy can be derailed by short-term politics, making the UK a riskier place for green investment. For businesses, this means the path to a cheaper, greener, and more secure energy future just got less predictable, potentially leaving you exposed to volatile gas markets for longer.
What you can do:
Stress-test your energy budget: Don't assume a rapid transition to cheap renewables will lower your costs in the medium term. Model scenarios with continued exposure to volatile wholesale gas prices for the next 3-5 years.
Re-evaluate the business case for on-site generation: This policy uncertainty strengthens the argument for investing in your own solar or battery storage, giving you more control over long-term costs and insulating your operations from grid volatility.
Question your energy broker: If you are considering a long-term fixed contract or a green PPA, ask your advisor how this potential policy shift impacts future price forecasts and non-commodity costs.
LATEST MARKET NUMBERS
⚡ B2B Market Pulse
Wholesale Electricity Price (weekly avg.): 5.92 p/kWh (📉 -3.09 p/kWh / -34.3%) Prices plummeted as renewable generation returned in force, washing the previous week's weather-risk premium out of the market.
Wholesale Gas Price: 2.74 p/kWh (📉 -0.02 p/kWh / -0.7%) Gas prices remained stable, further proving that renewable output is the dominant driver of day-to-day electricity costs.
UK Carbon Price (UKA): £54.56 per tonne (📉 -£1.80 / -3.2%) Carbon costs drifted lower, but this had little to no impact on the week's price action.
Wind + Solar Generation (Share of UK Mix): 48.5% (📈 +35.3 pts / +267.4%) Renewable output staged a massive recovery, rebounding from last week's historic low to provide nearly half of all UK electricity.
The Meet George Take
If last week was about the cost of no wind, this week is about the benefit of high wind. The 34.3% collapse in power prices directly corresponds to the massive +267.4% rebound in renewable generation, which supplied nearly half of all UK power.
What does this prove? It confirms that the "weather risk premium" we identified last week isn't a new permanent floor; it's a volatile spring. It floods into the market when the forecast is calm and evaporates just as quickly when the wind blows.
For your business, this is the new reality of energy procurement. The price of gas (which was flat) is no longer the primary indicator of your electricity bill. The real driver is weather-driven volatility. This makes forecasting your energy spend impossible on the spot market. The stability you get from a fixed-term contract is no longer just "convenient"—it's one of the only remaining tools to protect your P&L from the weather.
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