There is an increasing need for UK plc to insulate itself from future energy volatility. Being a reactive price taker on insecure energy imports isn’t going to protect businesses from escalating costs. This is especially true for economic sectors that are massive users of energy - data centres, automotive manufacturing, chemicals and steel production.

The cost of energy for British businesses was a crisis before the war. The country has some of the highest industrial electricity prices in the developed world. Energy costs are also set to soar, with electricity bills rising by up to 30%. Unlike households, businesses have no price cap to insulate them from volatility in wholesale energy costs.

There is now a greater realisation that energy sovereignty and security equals business security. Energy price volatility has been blamed for driving profits down by nine out of ten businesses, according to research by PwC.