Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 8 September, the Government has published further details of the support it is offering to businesses in the face of soaring energy prices.
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide protections for all businesses, voluntary sector and public sector organisations which face excessively high energy bills over the winter period, whether they are on existing fixed price contracts agreed on or after 1 April 2022, signing new fixed price contracts, variable or deemed tariffs or flexible purchase contracts.
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. Suppliers will pass the reduction in the wholesale price through to their customers.
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will run initially for 6 months covering energy use from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023. The Government will publish a review of the scheme after 3 months which will consider how best to offer further support to customers who are the most vulnerable to energy price increases.
