About us
Our work
Read about our work in Energy UK’s 2023 Annual Report
Our strategic priorities
Fair and affordable energy for customers
Energy is an essential service, and energy suppliers are crucial interface between customers and the industry. The UK will only meet its Net zero targets with a thriving, competitive and innovative retail energy market that delivers for homes and businesses.
Delivering for customers today
Energy UK works with our members, consumer groups, government and others on the things that matter most to customers – including switching, customer service, smart meters, financial resilience, tariff regulation (including the price cap and green tariffs), vulnerability, affordability, debt and disconnection. We also lead the industry’s Energy Switch Guarantee and the Vulnerability Commitment.
We highlight and share good practice and use evidence, data and insights about the market to inform effective policymaking, ensuring competitive pressures are used to improve customer service and reduce costs wherever possible.
Redesigning the market for tomorrow
The retail energy market will be responsible for delivering vital changes for households and businesses to reach Net Zero. This includes improving energy efficiency and decarbonising heat. The future of the energy market is likely to be more dynamic and flexible, which means developing new and exciting ways for businesses and homes to engage. The rules and regulations that govern the market should create the right conditions for energy suppliers to offer products and tariffs that work with new technologies and the future energy system – including smart tariffs to allow customers to take advantage of using electricity when it is cheapest and most plentiful, and ensuring that there is financial support available for people who need it the most.
Unlocking investment to secure Net Zero
Securing investment is key to achieving our Net Zero ambition and ensuring that we have a domestic source of reliable clean power generation. The UK has bold targets to accelerate our low-carbon generation capacity and deliver a decarbonised power system by 2035. Meeting these targets is critical for the wider decarbonisation of our economy and ensuring that consumers can fully benefit from a cheap and secure supply of domestic renewables.
Energy UK is leading the conversation on how to ensure the UK remains an attractive place to invest, building on the success that has seen us phase out coal almost completely and develop a world-leading offshore wind industry.
The UK’s decarbonisation progress to date is no guarantee that investment will continue to flow to the GB power market at the scale that is needed. Capital has a choice of location and without appropriate policy measures we could fall behind the race for clean energy investment, risking not only our climate ambitions but also a secure, domestic energy supply. This is outlined in our recent report ‘Storms Approaching’.
We work with our members to advocate for a stable, predictable policy regulatory and legislative framework that delivers the consistent market signals the energy industry needs to attract investment. Our policy expertise covers the development of nuclear, wind and solar, and nascent technologies such as hydrogen and CCUS. We engage with officials to identify and provide solutions to existing systemic regulatory hurdles to investment, such as planning and grid connections, as well as future challenges. Our report “The Future of the Power Market” sets out recommendations to align electricity market trading arrangements with Net Zero whilst keeping investment on track.
A flexible and dynamic system
More and more people and businesses are investing in low carbon technologies like electric vehicles and low carbon heat systems. Energy UK is leading the conversation on the potential for this exciting journey, and the barriers that the industry needs to overcome in order to deliver Net Zero at the most efficient cost to consumers.
Energy UK represents members from across the industry, including all available technologies in the decarbonisation process for heating. We explore the steps required to deliver this critical but complex change to homes and buildings in our report on kick-starting the decarbonisation of heat.
As our membership has expanded to reflect the widening scope of the energy sector, we have also convened electric vehicle charging organisations to explore the technical approach to smart technology in the home, including our work on the Future of Smart Charging.
As these assets connect to the system and with an increasing amount of low carbon generation delivered across the UK, we must have a coordinated approach to system balancing and the delivery of flexible energy technologies across the system. We work across the energy sector to place the UK at the forefront of innovation when it comes to the technologies and business models we need to deliver the energy transition and meet our Net Zero ambition.
Our report looking at Delivering on the Potential of Flexibility shows the wide range of changes developing in this space.
We also work with others to improve Diversity and Inclusion across industry, and connect, develop and inspire the next generation of future energy leaders.
Young Energy Professionals Forum
Our Young Energy Professionals Forum is a fantastic way for people at the start of their energy career to meet and connect with others, develop their skills and be inspired by our opportunities to learn about the industry and visit sites across the UK. It’s free to join, and open to students or anyone working in energy with less than ten years’ experience.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Energy UK is playing a key role in improving EDI across industry, using its central position to create forums to gather insight, share best practice and engage with leaders.