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:
Ofgem Shields Your Budget: 15-Month Warning for Network Costs is Here to Stay
Tipping Point: Renewables Generate a Record 54.5% of UK Electricity
Are You Being Overcharged for Energy by Your Landlord? Ofgem Is Investigating.
This Week's B2B Market Pulse
Hidden Gem Stories You Might Have Missed
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Ofgem
Image source: Gemini / Meet George
The Spark: The UK's energy regulator has rejected a proposal to shorten the notice period for network charge changes, preserving the critical 15-month window businesses rely on for accurate cost forecasting and budgeting.
The details:
The regulator, Ofgem, has rejected a code modification proposal (DCP437) that sought to shorten the notice period for setting Distribution Use of System (DUoS) charges - a key component of your electricity bill.
The proposal would have reduced the current 15-month forward-view of these charges to 14 months, making long-term budget forecasting more difficult for businesses.
Suppliers argued that a shorter notice period would force them to add a 'risk premium' to customer contracts to cover the increased uncertainty, ultimately increasing costs for end-users.
Ofgem sided with consumers, deciding that protecting long-term cost visibility and competition was more important than the operational convenience for the network operators.
Why it matters: This sounds like a minor technical decision, but it's a quiet but crucial victory for anyone responsible for a business P&L. The debate was a classic trade-off: a little more administrative breathing room for the network companies versus concrete budget certainty for your business. DUoS charges are a significant and often volatile part of your bill, and the 15-month notice period is a powerful tool for financial planning. Losing a month of that foresight would have forced suppliers to price-in uncertainty, meaning higher 'risk premiums' passed directly on to you. By rejecting this change, Ofgem has reinforced a vital principle: your ability to plan and forecast future costs is non-negotiable.
What you can do:
Leverage the certainty: Ask your energy supplier or consultant to provide the confirmed DUoS charge schedule for the next 15 months. Ensure it's explicitly factored into your financial forecasts.
Audit your contract terms: Understand how DUoS charges are treated in your supply agreement. If they are a direct 'pass-through', this 15-month visibility is absolutely critical to your business.
Optimise your usage: Use this long-term view of charges to analyse the financial benefit of shifting energy-intensive processes away from the most expensive 'Red Band' DUoS periods (typically 4-7 pm on weekdays).
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Image source: Gemini / Meet George
The Spark: The latest official government data confirms a seismic shift in UK energy: renewables generated a record-breaking majority of our electricity last quarter, while fossil fuels slumped to a historic low, fundamentally reshaping the drivers of your future bills.
The details:
The share of electricity from renewables (wind, solar, bioenergy) hit an all-time high of 54.5% in Q2 2025.
This was driven by a 10% increase in offshore wind generation and a massive 27% surge in solar output, which benefited from record sunshine.
Consequently, the share of fossil fuels (mainly gas) in the generation mix fell to a record low of 26.7%.
Overall final energy consumption also fell by 3.2%, pointing to a broader trend of reduced demand across the economy.
Why it matters: These aren't just green talking points; they are hard financial signals about the future of your energy costs. The real-world impact is that the primary driver of wholesale electricity prices is rapidly shifting from the volatile international gas market to our own weather patterns. A grid dominated by renewables means the cost of power is increasingly dictated by wind speeds and sunshine levels. For your business, this fundamentally alters the risk landscape. The old rules of just tracking the price of gas are becoming obsolete. The new reality is a market where prices can be very low when it's windy and sunny, but can spike when the weather doesn't cooperate. Navigating this new volatility is the key challenge and opportunity in energy procurement for the next decade.
What you can do:
Rethink your risk strategy: Ask your energy broker how their procurement advice is adapting to a weather-driven market. A strategy that only hedges against gas prices is no longer fit for purpose.
Start tracking generation: Pay attention to renewable generation forecasts. High wind and sun forecasts will increasingly signal periods of lower wholesale prices, creating opportunities for businesses that can be flexible.
Explore smart tariffs: This data is the ultimate proof that 'when' you use energy is becoming as important as 'how much'. Use this as a trigger to investigate how a time-of-use tariff could benefit your operations by shifting consumption to cheaper, greener periods.
Ofgem
Image source: Gemini / Meet George
The Spark: The UK's energy regulator has launched a major review into the rules for reselling energy, officially questioning for the first time whether the price protections that shield households should finally be extended to business tenants.
The details:
Ofgem is reviewing the Maximum Resale Price (MRP) rules, which cap how much an intermediary (like a landlord) can charge for energy.
Currently, this protection only applies to domestic consumers. A business tenant in an office or industrial unit has no protection from being overcharged.
The review explicitly asks whether the MRP should be extended to cover non-domestic consumers, potentially ending the practice of landlords profiting from energy resale.
It also examines the rules around EV charging, where a 2014 exemption designed to encourage investment may now be exposing drivers in rented properties to excessive costs.
Why it matters: Let's translate the jargon. 'Energy resale' is what happens when your landlord buys energy for the whole building and charges you for your share through a service charge. For decades, a regulatory black hole has meant that while a residential tenant is protected from being overcharged, a business in the same building is not. Your landlord could be on a cheap, fixed-term energy deal while charging you a wildly inflated rate, legally pocketing the difference. This 'Call for Input' is the first real signal that this could change. The real-world impact is profound: this review could force commercial landlords to pass through energy costs transparently and fairly, turning a hidden profit centre into a transparent, auditable P&L line item for thousands of SMEs.
What you can do:
Submit your evidence: This is a formal 'Call for Input'. If you believe you've been overcharged by a landlord, this is your chance to tell the regulator. Submit your lease agreements, service charge invoices, and any correspondence about energy costs to Ofgem's review.
Audit your lease now: Dig out your tenancy agreement and understand exactly how energy costs are calculated and passed on to you. Is it a direct pass-through or bundled into a wider service charge? Knowledge is leverage.
Question your landlord: Ask your landlord or managing agent to show you the energy bills for the building to verify the rate you're being charged. Their willingness—or refusal—to be transparent is valuable intelligence.
LATEST MARKET NUMBERS
⚡ B2B Market Pulse
Wholesale Electricity Price (weekly avg.): 8.46 p/kWh (📈 +2.76 p/kWh / +48.4%) Power prices surged to their highest level in months, adding extreme cost pressure back into the market.
Wholesale Gas Price: 2.78 p/kWh (📈 +0.02 p/kWh / +0.7%) Gas prices remained effectively flat, showing no fundamental driver for the massive spike in electricity costs.
UK Carbon Price (UKA): £55.40 per tonne (🔻 -£1.77 / -3.1%) The cost of carbon fell, a bearish signal that was completely overwhelmed by other market forces.
Wind + Solar Generation (Share of UK Mix): 37.7% (🔻 -3.5 pts / -8.5%) A significant drop in renewable output forced the grid to rely on more expensive generation sources.
The Meet George Take
This week, the market provided a textbook example of the new energy reality. After last week’s puzzling disconnect, the picture is now crystal clear: the weather is in charge.
Wholesale electricity prices rocketed by an astonishing 48%, yet the traditional culprits had alibis. The price of gas was flat, and the cost of carbon actually fell. The single-driver for this spike was the significant drop in renewable generation. As wind and solar output fell, the grid was forced to fire up more expensive gas-fired power stations to meet demand. This increased reliance on gas, even at a stable price, was enough to send power prices soaring.
For a business, this is the most important lesson in today's market: the price you pay for electricity is now fundamentally a bet on the weather. A drop in renewable output is a far more powerful price signal than minor fluctuations in the gas or carbon markets. This introduces a new and aggressive form of volatility. Managing this risk requires moving beyond simply tracking commodity prices and developing a strategy that understands and adapts to the changing generation mix.
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