Wednesday 14 October 2026 | AMTC, Coventry
09.00 – 17.00
October makes the opening of the application window for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS), a relief decision that will shape procurement, capex and pass-through exposure through to 2030. It is one of several decisions major energy users now face: relief eligibility, contract and capacity choices, project prioritisation, flexibility value, water resilience and proof of value to finance.
If the Buying and Using Utilities Live event in April covered the new bill reality (available to view on-demand), then this October event is the moment major energy users decide what to do about it for the next three years.
The question for the day is:
How should you manage your energy and water portfolios through to 2030 — when relief eligibility, data, capacity, flexibility, carbon and investment decisions are all live at the same time?
Session 3 – The Three-Year Plan: delivery, outlook and proof
Once delegates have considered relief, data, flexibility, water, contracts and governance, the question becomes practical: where to invest first, what assumptions a strategy needs to survive, and how to prove value to finance and the board.
Session Agenda
| 14.15 | Introduction Chair: Rafa Centeno Molina, Group Energy Manager, Breedon |
| 14.20 | The Estate Triage: which sites deserve action first? Most organisations have more possible projects than budget, time or internal capacity. This session explores how to prioritise action across an estate, considering savings potential, carbon impact, operational risk, data quality, capex, payback, grid and water constraints, disruption and repeatability. Peter Pharoah, Director of Energy Supply Management, Ameresco |
| 14.35 | Beyond the Contract: Questions Energy Buyers Should Be Asking Now As organisations electrify, improve efficiency and progress towards net zero, energy consumption patterns are changing. These shifts can have significant implications for demand shape, volume tolerances, contract performance and future costs. This session explores the questions energy users should be asking today to ensure their procurement strategy remains fit for purpose through to 2030, from whether existing contractual structures can support changing business needs to the role of clean firm power and emerging market solutions in managing future energy risk. Damon Fleming, National Account Manager, TotalEnergies |
| 14.50 | A practical view of the current market landscape A perspective on the key factors shaping European energy markets, looking at the ever-changing global geopolitical developments that have driven recent market moves and assessing what they mean for the months ahead. We’ll cover European storage levels, weather outlooks, LNG flows & recent price action with an eye on key market spreads. George Steel, Structured Trader, SEFE |
| 15.05 | The Budget You Thought Was Fixed: volatility is not the problem, exposure is Following the market outlook, this session translates market movement into P&L impact. It starts with the sensitivity most organisations have never written down – how much the budget moves for every £1/MWh change in the market – and explains why a stable, flat-load estate is not the safer position: price is almost its entire exposure and it has fewer ways out than a variable industrial load. The session then compares the full range of tools for managing that exposure, from fixed contracts through to financial hedges and risk-transfer products, when most organisations only ever use two, and asks whether energy price risk belongs with procurement, treasury or finance. Taraneh Azad, Chief Commercial Officer, and Catherine Gale, Chief Marketing Officer, Paratus |
| 15.20 | Engage, Query, and Learn: An open mic session designed to challenge speakers on what delegates should act on, what assumptions they should test, and what risks they may be missing. Questions led by the Chair |