Richard Clayton

Project specialist: Utilities

Richard started his career in procurement with Tate & Lyle Plc and after 24 years joined Expense Reduction Analysts, where his focus has been devoted to the energy market. Dramatic price volatility over the last decade has promoted gas and electricity costs to their current position at the centre of political debate and more importantly firmly on the agendas of all businesses.

Buying energy has gradually become a more complex process not least with the introduction of successive layers of environmental taxes designed to subsidise renewable investment as the UK moves towards a lower carbon market. In addition factors such as a growing dependence on imported gas, extreme weather events, geopolitical upheavals and the closure of UK power generating capacity all conspire to inject constant volatility into the wholesale energy market.

Business consumers have little or no ability to influence these external factors, but an understanding of the dynamics driving the wholesale energy market can assist in making informed purchasing decisions.

As a member of the ERA Utilities Team Richard tracks developments in the energy market from a broad range of sources and works with clients to consider when might be an appropriate time to approach the market, bring knowledge and excellent supplier relationships into the decision making process.

Of equal importance to understanding the wholesale energy market, is gaining an understanding of each client’s attitude to risk, and planning energy procurement strategies accordingly.