Government publishes further update on the Energy Bill Relief Scheme

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has issued a further update on the support package under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme for non-domestic energy users. We have provided a summary of the updates below.

Trident posted a preliminary overview of the business support scheme following the Government announcement earlier this month. A summary of the initial guidance can be found here.

Customers on a Default / Variable Tariff or Flexible Contract  

• The maximum discount figures of 34.5p/kWh for electricity and 9.1p/kWh for gas issued in the updated guidance of 1st October are unchanged. 

Customers on a Fixed Price Contract  

• In all previous guidance released it was stated that a discount would be applicable to any fixed price contracts signed on or after 1st April 2022. The qualifying date has now been amended to 1st December 2021 with all fixed contracts signed on or after this date being eligible, however the discount will still only apply to consumption between 1st October 2022 and 31st March 2023. 
• For contracts agreed between 1st December 2021 and 31st March 2022, there are limited periods where discounts will apply due to the wholesale cost of electricity and gas being below the published floor prices for most of this period. 
• The latest guidance also includes the discount matrix, so the p/kWh discount that will apply to a customer’s invoice is now known for any contracts agreed up to and including 9th October 2022. 
• The discount matrix will be updated weekly throughout winter with the next update due to be published on 17th October 2022. 

The full update can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bill-relief-scheme-help-for-businesses-and-other-non-domestic-customers 

Scheme in Northern Ireland 

Details of the equivalent scheme applicable to customers in Northern Ireland were also published on 10th October 2022. The scheme will operate as per the GB scheme and the floor price for all customers and maximum discount prices for customers on a default / variable tariff or flexible contract will be exactly as those in the GB scheme. 

The full update can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bill-relief-scheme-help-for-businesses-and-other-non-domestic-customers-northern-ireland