UK retailers 'overspending on energy bills'

• By E4B
• 17 June 2008
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Commercial electricity

users in the UK's retail sector are overspending on energy to run data centres by around £1.25 million a year, according to new research.

The study undertaken by data centre specialist RichardsoNEyres and analysts IDL found that the figure is the equivalent of ten per cent of retailers' total energy bills.

According to the report, IT capacity management has grown slower than the increase in data created by online sales, store openings and other aspects of retail.

It was also found that 83 per cent of retailers have made tackling wasted energy costs a priority for this year.

Adam Kemp, director of RichardsoNEyres, said that retailers "need their IT infrastructure to catch-up with the best practice demonstrated elsewhere in British industry".

He added that "applying virtualisation to a data centre can reduce energy consumption by up to 50 per cent".

Patricia Ockenden, the press officer of energywatch, recently stated that businesses must ensure they understand all aspects of energy contracts before signing up to them.