Three quarters of 100 factory leaders surveyed said rising energy prices are a factor in decisions to expand their business, npower reported.
A further 26% said they plan job cuts or recruitment freezes to cope with further predicted price hikes under Electricity Market Reform (EMR) introduced this month.
Around 16% have pondered moving production overseas as a result.
The npower research comes as two cost elements of EMR- Contracts for Difference and Capacity Mechanism- appeared on the bills of large energy users from this month.
The impact is expected to be minimal at around 40p/MWh at first according to npower. However costs will ramp up on a quarterly basis and could hit £8 to £10/MWh by 2020 the Department of Energy and Climate Change has predicted.
Wayne Mitchell, director of markets & innovation for npower business solutions, said: "Hoping that global oil prices will take care of your energy cost problems is not a long-term solution. Our research clearly proves that energy management should be one of the top priorities of every company board."
Stephen Reeson, head of climate change & energy policy at the Food and Drink Federation commented: "As this research shows, Britain's food and drink industry is increasingly concerned about the impact of rising energy prices.
"Ultimately it is consumers who will feel the impact in their weekly shopping basket if companies are unable to keep absorbing these costs. But rising energy prices will also substantially impact our sector's ability to fund low carbon technologies and grow exports in highly competitive global markets.