Support around Energy costs
Support for households, businesses and public sector organisations facing rising energy bills in Great Britain and Northern Ireland was unveiled by
Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg on Wednesday 21 September 2022 - supporting growth, preventing unnecessary insolvencies and protecting jobs.
Through a new government Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the government will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers (including all UK businesses, the voluntary sector like charities and the public sector such as schools and hospitals) whose current gas and electricity prices have been significantly inflated in light of global energy prices. This support will be equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee put in place for households.
It will apply to fixed contracts agreed on or after 1 April 2022, as well as to deemed, variable and flexible tariffs and contracts. It will apply to energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, running for an initial 6 month period for all non-domestic energy users. The savings will be first seen in October bills, which are typically received in November.
As with the Energy Price Guarantee for households, customers do not need to take action or apply to the scheme to access the support. Support (in the form of a p/kWh discount) will automatically be applied to bills.
To administer support, the government has set a Supported Wholesale Price – expected to be £211 per MWh for electricity and £75 per MWh for gas, less than half the wholesale prices anticipated this winter – which is a discounted price per unit of gas and electricity. This is equivalent to the wholesale element of the Energy Price Guarantee for households. It includes the removal of green levies paid by non-domestic customers who receive support under the scheme.
Full details are available on the Gov.uk website.
New 'Energy Bills Discount Scheme' for businesses announced
On 9 January 2023, the government announced a new energy scheme for businesses, charities, and the public sector, ahead of the current scheme ending in March.
The scheme will mean that all eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users will receive a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024.
A higher level of support will be provided to businesses in sectors identified as being the most energy and trade intensive – predominately manufacturing industries.
More details are available on the Gov.uk website.