Energy bills support to continue at reduced rate

The government has published its plans for the end of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme for businesses which comes to an end on 31 March

The EBRS will be replaced by an Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) which will run from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024.

Businesses which have been receiving help under the EBRS will be eligible for the EBDS and will not have to take any action – discounts will continue to be applied to energy bills automatically.

However, the new rates of support are lower than under the current EBRS scheme.

The new scheme, set to launch in April, will apply a discount to wholesale energy prices. If wholesale prices rise, it will be the business that takes the pain.

From 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, all eligible non-domestic customers who have a contract with a licensed energy supplier will see a unit discount of up to £6.97/MWh automatically applied to their gas bill and a unit discount of up to £19.61/MWh applied to their electricity bill.

This will be subject to a wholesale price threshold, set with reference to the support provided for domestic consumers, of £107/MWh for gas and £302/MWh for electricity. This means that businesses experiencing energy costs below this level will not receive support.

Customers do not need to apply for their discount. As with the current scheme, suppliers will automatically apply reductions to the bills of all eligible non-domestic customers.