We’re part way through a winter that’s putting businesses to the test so it’s important to seize any help you can to balance the books.
With falling gross domestic product and predictions of a prolonged recession, the Chancellor has warned of “a tough road ahead” as a combination of factors flatten the UK economy.
One of the most pressing of these is the cost of energy - it is it’s vital that business leaders are aware of the support available and are aware of its limitations.
At Duncan & Toplis, we are here to help in any way that we can throughout the current economic crisis - we’re all in this together.
The government has launched an ‘Energy Bill Relief Scheme’ - published in late September - which is a support fund dedicated to non-domestic customers such as businesses. The scheme essentially provides energy bill relief, with discounts being applied to bills from 1 October 2022. It’s important to note however that this scheme is due to end on 31 March 2023
The scheme is available to any business, voluntary organisations such as charities and public organisations such as schools and hospitals. There is an eligibility criteria however, which can be viewed here. Essentially, you need to be:
There are a few exclusions, but this typically applies to businesses that use gas or electricity as a purpose of generating power that they then sell back to the grid.
To calculate the discount, the estimated wholesale portion of the unit price that you would be paying will be compared to a baseline price supported by the government. This price is lower than currently expected wholesale prices this winter and therefore will provide some (but limited) relief.
These prices have been set at £211 per megawatt hour (MWh) for electricity, and £75 per MWh for gas.
In terms of registering or applying for the scheme - it is an automatic discount, so you won’t need to physically take any action. Savings will be applied to your October bills onwards, so you should have been seeing evidence of this from November onwards.
The scheme will be reviewed after three months of publication to determine whether or not the support will be continued past the March 2023 cut-off date. However, based on government statements, the review will likely only favour the most vulnerable non-domestic customers rather than all organisations.
We understand that, even with the government support scheme, energy bills are scarily high and can be difficult to pay if you’re feeling the pinch. There are a few things that you can do if you’re in this position, such as:
If you require any advice or guidance on your energy bills this winter, then please contact our team for assistance.
