Electricity Discounts Should Be Extended to Logistics Sector,

Following the announcement today by the government to increase the discount in electricity costs for selected industries, Michelle Gardner, Deputy Director - Policy at business group Logistics UK calls for logistics to be included alongside these sectors:

"If the government is serious about its commitment to decarbonisation, it must make the cost of electricity more affordable to ensure logistics operators can invest in the switch to electric vehicles. Our sector is set to become a future energy intensive industry due to the shift to electric fleets, so logistics should be granted the same dispensations as the other sectors named today.

"Fuel is the single biggest cost paid by our sector, but while the UK has the highest industrial electricity prices in the G7, our industry will find it hard to stay competitive while still delivering everything that industry and consumers rely on every day.

"Increasing use of cost-effective electricity will be vital if logistics businesses are to decarbonise, so we need support from government to keep our industry driving the growth the country needs and urge it to extend the electricity discounts across our sector."

Logistics UK is one of the UK's biggest business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With decarbonisation, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, water and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, please visit logistics.org.uk