This week the UK government finalized details of a revised energy cost support scheme for businesses, set to replace the current scheme ending in April. The new scheme is expected to offer significantly less financial support at a time when many manufacturers are struggling with higher costs.
Blog Summary:
- A survey of 200 senior executives in manufacturing found that the number of companies which viewed the UK as a competitive manufacturing location halved from 63% to 31%.
- The threat of blackouts has decreased due to lower-than-expected gas usage throughout Europe, with 83% of storage sites being full – a 30% increase from 2021.
- One solution manufacturers can use to combat these rising energy costs is Konektio’s AssetMinder Impact which can save costs, improve efficiency and support sustainability.
In addition to the financial burden of ongoing rise in energy costs, the UK’s political instability is also causing concern among manufacturers. A survey of over 200 senior executives across manufacturing found that the country’s competitiveness as a manufacturing location has been damaged. In fact, the number of companies that said the UK was a competitive location dropped from 63% to 31% from the previous year.
Make UK’s CEO, Stephen Phipson, commented on the situation, saying, “While an extension of the energy relief scheme will be welcome, to date it has just been a sticking plaster and making it less generous will make the situation worse for many companies.” He added that a less generous energy relief scheme is likely to exacerbate planned reductions in headcount and production.
Not all news is negative, however. Some energy sector executives and traders are hopeful that the unseasonably warm weather across Europe in the closing weeks of December and early January could result in lower energy bills later in 2023. Additionally, the threat of blackouts appears to have abated due to lower-than-expected gas usage across the continent, which has left storage sites at strong levels. These sites were more than 83% full at the end of December, around 30% higher than the same time the previous year and more than 10% higher than the average of the past five years. This has boosted confidence that the continent will have sufficient gas supplies to see it through the winter.
It is clear that the UK manufacturing industry is facing several challenges, including rising energy costs and political instability. While there may be some hope on the horizon in the form of lower energy bills and reduced blackout risks, it is important for manufacturers to address these issues themselves in order to maintain their competitiveness in the market. One such way to do this is through Konektio’s AssetMinder Impact, an energy monitoring solution that can provide real-time data on energy usage and identify opportunities for cost savings.
With Konektio, manufacturers can track their energy consumption in real-time and identify areas where they may be overspending. This information can be used to implement energy-saving measures and improve overall efficiency. Additionally, Konektio’s cloud-based platform allows manufacturers to access and analyze their energy data from anywhere, providing greater visibility and control over energy usage.
Another benefit of using Konektio is that it can help manufacturers to meet their sustainability goals and reduce their carbon footprint. By identifying and addressing energy inefficiencies, manufacturers can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the UK’s overall efforts to combat climate change.
Overall, Konektio’s energy monitoring solution can provide a range of benefits to UK manufacturers, including cost savings, increased efficiency, and support for sustainability efforts. As the manufacturing industry faces challenges such as rising energy costs and political instability, implementing innovative solutions, like AssetMinder Impact, may be an effective way to mitigate these challenges and ensure long-term success.
About Konektio
Konektio connects the digital and physical worlds to digitally transform global industrial and manufacturing customers. Through their world-class expertise in IIoT automation solutions and services, including the IIoT SaaS product AssetMinder®, they help organizations succeed in their digital transformation journey by enabling visibility and control of their assets across the factory and externally in the field. AssetMinder® captures usage and performance data from smart digital sensors, providing advanced insights to unlock data-driven intelligence that optimizes processes, condition monitoring, uptime, and profitability across a range of industries including manufacturing, transportation, utilities, smart infrastructure, and food processing.
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