A Q and A with Phil Bryant, Head of Business Development at Centrica Business Solutions
Business energy resilience is far more complex now than it was before the energy transition began. In fact, the meaning of energy resilience has shifted. Today, it requires a business to maintain continuity, control cost exposure, secure sustainable supply and adapt to disruptive forces - all within a fragmented and fast-changing energy system.
Businesses are being acutely affected by the complexity of achieving energy resilience in this volatile environment. Centrica Business Solutions Power Paradox report, created from a survey of 500 UK and Ireland businesses, found that 67% are balancing cost, carbon and resilience decisions holistically - but 30% admit they're unlikely to hit their 2030 emissions targets. That gap tells you everything: businesses know energy resilience matters, but achieving multiple competing goals creates a challenging paradox.
Energy resilience for businesses can be broken down into four core components:
Adaptability: can you respond effectively to a geopolitical shock, regulatory shift or infrastructure failure?
No single component of energy resilience sits in isolation; it’s an ongoing balancing act between them all. Unfortunately, most energy decisions will win in one area while creating pressure on another. Cheap energy isn’t always sustainable, sustainable energy doesn’t guarantee resilience, and resilience often requires a significant upfront investment. Amid these conflicting pressures, businesses are focusing on what they can control. It’s why 64% of businesses now rate improving access to high-quality, real-time energy data as a top priority. In practice, you can’t build energy resilience without taking on some risk. But accurate data and clear visibility keep your efforts and budget focused on what actually works.
An effective corporate energy strategy today needs to connect energy efficiency, procurement, generation, flexibility and finance into a single, coherent approach, which supports long-term business objectives. This is no mean feat, which is why energy strategy development has moved from being a technical or compliance exercise to a board-level priority. The businesses making real progress are those that understand the need for an integrated energy strategy rather than a set of disconnected initiatives.
A strong business energy strategy should prioritise the following:
Cross-functional planning: 79% of businesses are implementing or have already embedded cross-functional energy teams, recognising that energy decisions touch finance, procurement, operations and sustainability simultaneously.
Together, these elements empower businesses to innovate with confidence and experiment without fear of expensive missteps. It’s a balance data centres have already struck, offering a practical model for others to follow. The Power Paradox report tells us that 95% of data centres are willing to experiment with new technologies to build a business case for investment, and 69% have enough visibility to confidently balance onsite generation against grid supply. They understand that high experimentation doesn't have to mean high risk - as long as the right strategic elements are in place first.
Many businesses are holding back on energy innovation for one key reason: uncertainty. External volatility, internal misalignment of priorities, and a lack of confidence - not ambition - are what’s stalling decision-making.
Our research supports this. In Centrica Business Solutions Power Paradox Report, we found that 69% of businesses say rising costs and risks have pushed energy to the top of the leadership agenda, yet 72% of businesses would prefer to wait for certainty rather than act with imperfect information.
Businesses understand that they need to take action, but have a range of competing priorities to consider:
Deploy technology to increase energy resilience and avoid upfront investment.
They know they need a holistic energy strategy that covers it all but, sadly, trade-offs feel inevitable. That tension is creating hesitation.
A large part of the problem is created by external forces: technological complexity, geopolitical instability, infrastructure constraints and a lack of clear guiding policy. Combined, these external pressures make it harder for businesses to predict costs or outcomes, pushing them towards short-term compromises rather than long-term strategies.
But internal pressures matter just as much. Many businesses are experiencing internal resistance to change, skills gaps, data limitations and conflicting internal stakeholder priorities. These internal pressures slow down decision-making from within.
With pressure coming from every direction, businesses are forced to weigh the risks of not progressing their energy innovation plans with the risks of taking the wrong action. One potential solution is to work with expert partners, who can help by advising on compliance routes, support scenario modelling or even engage with policymakers. By defining their concerns and identifying the right partnerships, businesses can begin to move from uncertainty into actionable pathways.
Electricity grid constraints in the UK are becoming one of the defining pressures on energy business strategy. Many businesses are already struggling to access the capacity they need, and many more will in the future unless they find new ways of solving grid constraints. It’s a pressure that’s influencing decisions on expansion, electrification, renewable energy projects and day-to-day operations.
Centrica Business Solutions surveyed 500 UK and Ireland businesses for it's Power Paradox report. It found that 32% of businesses cite grid and infrastructure constraints as a top barrier to a more unified and effective energy strategy. This figure was even higher (at 40%) among leaders outside of the C-suite, suggesting the operational impact of national grid constraints is being felt more acutely by those closest to day-to-day delivery.
Limited grid capacity is affecting business energy plans in several tangible ways:
Wider operational plans: uncertainty over connection timescales makes it harder to sequence investment, forcing businesses to build contingencies into existing plans.
Businesses are fast realising that relying on a single source of energy supply creates a significant risk, holding back energy innovation and progress towards net zero goals.
When it comes to electrical grid constraints and solutions, the most effective approach available is hybrid energy sourcing. An integrated energy strategy that includes decentralised sources reduces dependency on the grid and allows businesses to move forward with plans, without waiting for the infrastructure to catch up. Data centres - a sector facing some of the most acute grid pressure - illustrate this well: 69% have sufficient insight to determine the right balance between onsite generation and grid supply, compared with just 45% of the wider sample. Practical grid constraint mitigation options include:
Flexibility and load management: shifting or reducing demand at peak times eases pressure on constrained connections and can unlock cost savings.
Earlier energy planning also has a role to play: sequencing connection applications and investment decisions well ahead of need, rather than reactively, reduces the risk of grid constraints stalling expansion or electrification plans.
Onsite generation and battery storage give businesses a way to take more control of costs, carbon and continuity; delivering a valuable business asset in uncertain times. These ‘energy resilience technologies’ are becoming central to how businesses build their energy strategy, rather than acting as additional nice-to-have layers on top of a grid-first approach. That’s primarily because a strategy incorporating decentralised energy and ‘behind-the-meter’ generation is one that holds clear value for any businesses managing rising demand in combination with cost pressures, connection-delays or constrained supply.
Here’s why.
Distributed energy systems - combining onsite generation, battery storage and demand flexibility - offer several practical advantages over relying on grid supply alone. Battery storage for energy resilience is a particular focus for UK businesses right now, as it directly addresses the intermittency of onsite renewables and the unpredictability of grid supply.
When shaping an energy strategy, it’s important that businesses know their funding options. Investment in onsite generation and energy storage doesn't need to rely on CAPEX funding. Flexible finance models such as PPAs and EaaS provide an attractive alternative. These financing options give businesses long-term pricing stability and visibility, making it easier to build the business case for new energy projects. The appeal is evidenced by our Power Paradox report, which tells us that 66% of businesses now lean towards flexible funding over traditional CAPEX-based models.
Digital tools have the potential to both support and accelerate energy innovation, and turn reactive energy management into a strategic data-led discipline. As energy strategy becomes more complex, data monitoring, forecasting and optimisation will make decision-making easier and complexity more manageable.
Our Power Paradox report identifies this shift clearly: businesses expect to overhaul their energy decision-making process and, for many, smart energy innovation will be the enabler. More than two in five businesses (41%) believe that within three years, AI will be responsible for most of their operational energy decisions, with minimal human input.
From relatively simple AI agents to sophisticated energy innovation technology, digital tools can play a valuable role at every stage of the decision-making process:
It’s clear from the results of our survey that the biggest barrier to energy innovation isn't ambition, but confidence. Digital tools are one of the most effective ways to close that gap. With better visibility and forecasting, businesses can quantify trade-offs, test technologies before committing capital, and sequence investment with far greater certainty.
In short, digital tools don't just make energy decisions faster - they make them safer to take. By turning raw energy data into forecasts, controls and optimised scenarios, businesses can experiment with more confidence, sequence investment more logically, and build resilience without waiting for perfect certainty.
To explore the full findings behind the insights referenced in this Q&A, including how businesses across the UK and Ireland are navigating cost, carbon and resilience trade-offs, read the full Power Paradox report below, & get in touch with us to discuss how we can help you build a more confident, integrated energy strategy.
Sign up to receive regular updates on:
By submitting your details you agree to process your personal data by Centrica Business Solutions as described on the Privacy Policy. Centrica Business Solutions will send you a regular newsletter and other marketing material we believe is relevant. You will be able to opt out of communications from us at any time.
