Through a new government Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the government will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers (including all UK businesses, the voluntary sector like charities and the public sector such as schools and hospitals) whose current gas and electricity prices have been significantly inflated in light of global energy prices. This support will be equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee put in place for households.
The headline points are as follows:
• It will apply to fixed contracts agreed on or after 1 April 2022, as well as to deemed, variable and flexible tariffs and contracts.
• It will apply to energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, running for an initial 6 month period for all non-domestic energy users.
• The savings will be first seen in October bills, which are typically received in November.
• As with the Energy Price Guarantee for households, customers do not need to take action or apply to the scheme to access the support. Support (in the form of a p/kWh discount) will automatically be applied to bills. If they are eligible then the scheme will be applied automatically to their usage from 1 October. If businesses really need to contact suppliers then they should do so by email.
• To administer support, the government has set a Supported Wholesale Price – expected to be £211 per MWh for electricity and £75 per MWh for gas, less than half the wholesale prices anticipated this winter – which is a discounted price per unit of gas and electricity.
• The level of price reduction for each business will vary depending on their contract type and circumstances.
• If an organisation signed a fixed deal before 1 April 22 they are not eligible for the scheme even if the fixed deal hasn’t come into force yet – it is the date of signing that will be determinative.
• The scheme covers electricity and gas. There will be more detail on how it applies to oil shortly.
• There will be a 3 month review, which will be published and will look at how well the scheme is working, which sectors should continue to be supported and in what way.
If ICOM UK members have any feedback or question about the scheme, please contact us as uk.icom.museum@gmail.com and we will pass on your questions and feedback to DCMS.
