Everything you need to know about the Energy Bills Discount Scheme

This follows government’s 3-month review into the operation of the Energy Bills Relief Scheme (EBRS).

Reminder of what was announced in the Energy Bills Relief Scheme (EBRS)

From 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023, the Energy Bills Relief Scheme provided a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers including all UK eligible businesses. This support was equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee put in place for households.

Suppliers applied reductions to the bills of eligible non-domestic customers. Further details of how the scheme worked can be found on the government website.

A similar scheme was established in Northern Ireland, providing a comparable level of support. For more information, see the government website.

What are the changes to the upcoming Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS)?

The government has undertaken a 3-month review into the operation of the scheme. This has informed decisions on future support after March 2023, determining those who are eligible for further support.

Following this review, the government has announced a new business energy scheme from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 for eligible non-domestic consumers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) will see the value of government support reduce from the current £18 billion scheme to a cap set at £5.5 billion, based on estimated volumes.

Key details of the EBDS can be found on the HMT website here. Some reflections are as follows:

• The standard discount will be universally applied to all businesses. It will be applied to the unit rate of energy once prices go above a certain level.
• Eligible non-domestic consumers will now receive a unit discount of up to £6.97/MWh unit discount to their gas bill and a unit discount of up to £19.61MWh to their electricity bill between April 2023 to March 2024, above a threshold of £107/MWh for gas and £302/MWh of electricity.