Fuel for thought

摘要

Energy prices have doubled in the past 18 months, and, according to a survey commissioned by Utilyx, an energy buying consultancy, and Barclays Capital, British companies are suffering losses of around £1bn a year purely through their failure to manage the energy buying process properly. The picture for the future does not look any rosier. A recent survey from the Engineering Employers' Federation (EEF) revealed that 80% of companies expect the cost of energy to rise further in the coming 12 months. The main reason for these price increases is that the global market for oil and gas has become increasingly competitive over the past three years. The Iraq war and climatic disasters in the southern US have played their part in this, but more than anything else it has occurred because the booming Asian economies of China and India are pushing demand for fossil fuels to their highest ever levels at just the point that reserves of those fuels are beginning to run out.