What is included in the Energy Bill Relief Scheme?
The scheme helps businesses with energy costs between 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. You don’t need to apply to the scheme – the discount will automatically be added to your bills.
The scheme applies to all non-domestic customers, including if you’re on a:
- fixed contract that was agreed on or after 1 December 2021
- ‘deemed’ or ‘out-of-contract’ contract
- variable contract
- flexible purchase or similar contract
The discount will be based on the difference between the wholesale price of the energy and the ‘government supported price’.
The wholesale price is the amount that suppliers have to pay to buy energy – this is the same for all suppliers.
The government supported price is:
- £211 for each MWh or 21.1p for each kWh of electricity
- £75 for each MWh or 7.5p for each kWh of gas
If you’re on a fixed contract the discount you get will depend on what the wholesale price was on the day you agreed your contract.
If you’re on any other type of contract:
- the amount of the discount will change as the wholesale price changes
- there’s a maximum discount of £345 for each MWh of electricity and £91 for each MWh of gas
You can find out further details on the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) via GOV.UK here.
Support moving forward (updated January 2023)
The Government has announced a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) which will run from April 2023 to April 2024 for eligible non-domestic consumers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
As per the current scheme the government will provide a per-unit discount on gas and electricity unit prices. You can find out further details on the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) via GOV.UK here.
We say
These support measures recognise the scale of the energy crisis and the risk it poses to businesses, providing immediate help.
Unfortunately, even at the capped levels, most businesses will still see an increase in energy costs. This may prompt many to reconsider whether there are ways that they can mitigate energy price increases, such as considering longer term energy deals or using energy monitoring systems to help reduce energy consumption.
Leighton is Managing Partner at Rouse Partners and supports a wide-ranging client portfolio. He also specialises in business advisory and corporate finance work.