On Monday 9th January 2023, the government announced how they are proposing to change the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) to support businesses from 1st April 2023 onwards. The new scheme, replacing EBRS, will be called the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) and is proposed to run for 12 months from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 with scaled back support for businesses. The new scheme is said to strike a balance between supporting businesses over the next 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets.
– Must be on a non-domestic contract, including businesses, charities, public sector organisation – schools, hospitals, care homes etc.
– On existing fixed prices contracts that were agreed on or after 1st December 2021 OR signing new fixed price contracts
– Customer on deemed, out of contract or standard variable tariffs
– Flexible supply contracts
– Per-unit discount on your gas and electricity unit prices, subject to a maximum discount
– The relative discount will be applied if wholesale prices are above a certain price threshold.
– For most non-domestic energy users in Great Britain and Northern Ireland these maximum discounts have been set at:
Electricity
£19.61 per megawatt hour (MWh) with a price threshold of £302 per MWh, therefore 1.961p/kWh with a price threshold of 30.2p/kWh
Gas
£6.97 per MWh with a price threshold of £107 per MWh, therefore 0.697p/kWh with a price threshold of 10.7p/kWh
– The discount is calculated as the difference between the wholesale price associated with an energy contract and the price threshold. The discount is phased in when the contract’s wholesale price exceeds the floor price, until the total discount per MWh reaches the maximum discount for that fuel.
– The government has recognised that some non-domestic energy users are particularly vulnerable to high energy prices due to their energy intensity and these sectors will receive a higher level of support, subject to a maximum discount.
– The maximum discounts and price threshold for these sectors are:
Electricity
£89 per MWh with a price threshold of £185 per MWh, therefore 8.9p/kWh with a price threshold of 18.5p/kWh
Gas
£40 per MWh with a price threshold of £99 per MWh, therefore 4.0p/kWh with a price threshold of 9.9p/kWh
Click below to view the list of eligible sectors.