The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is being replaced by the Energy Bills Discount Scheme

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), a temporary measure designed to protect businesses from soaring energy prices, comes to an end on 31^st March.  This scheme will be replaced by a scaled back version titled the Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) which comes into effect on 1^st April 2023.

The new EBDS scheme is a reduced government subsidy designed to balance the need of supporting businesses whilst ensuring large amounts of taxpayers’ money is not exposed to rising energy prices. The EBDS will support non-domestic businesses including charities and public sector energy users, lasting a year until 31^st March 2024.

Since the original EBRS scheme was introduced in Autumn 2022, UK energy markets have fallen significantly driven by warm weather, demand reduction, robust gas storage levels and healthy gas supplies to Europe.

Will EBDS impact me and my business?

The reality is, if your business did not commit to energy contracts beyond 31^st March 2023 you will not be impacted by the new EBDS unless UK energy markets increase.  This is due to current market prices falling significantly below the current thresholds of EBDS which are explained in more detail below.

If your business secured a fixed price contract whilst energy markets were at their highest through 2022 and the expiry date of this contract is beyond 31^st March 2023, you may be supported by the new scheme which is detailed below.

Energy Bills Discount Scheme

As of 1^st April 2023, the EBRS becomes the EBDS (Energy Bills Discount Scheme), and applies to business energy users.

For electricity the price threshold is £302/MWh, a discount of up to £19.61/MWh can be claimed if this is breached.

For gas the price threshold is £107/MWh, a discount of up to £6.97/MWh can be claimed if this is breached.

The lowest rate you can be discounted to is 10.70p per kWh of gas and 30.20p per kWh of electricity. If your business is already paying this amount or less, it will not be eligible for the discount. These discounts will be automatically applied to invoices by your supplier.

Please contact hello@gleg.co.uk for a more detailed market analysis and expert view on how to navigate your energy procurement strategy through the current market volatility.