News
08 Sep 2022
The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) is a new scheme announced by the government for eligible non-domestic consumers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The scheme will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices and will come into effect from April 2023 to April 2024.
The scheme replaces the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which was announced in September 2022 and is set to end in March 2023. This scheme was intended to support businesses and public sector organizations such as schools and hospitals by providing a discount on energy bills, in light of the global price pressures triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The new EBDS will continue to support businesses facing high energy prices, but with a cap of £5.5 billion based on estimated volumes, balancing support for businesses with limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets.
The government has published the wholesale reference rates for the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). We now have all the necessary data to support our customers through the scheme and provide better clarity around the relief amounts and what this means for individual customers.
In addition, the scheme has now been extended to all contracts agreed on or after 1 December 2021, as opposed to the previous date of 1 April 2022.
12 October 11:00
Following the recent Energy Bill Relief Scheme announcement, we will be hosting a webinar next week (Wed 12 Oct – 11am). This update will help guide organisations through the expected changes to billing and what might happen next.
Our panel of experts will discuss what the scheme means for your organisation including:
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We welcome the Government’s intervention and support with the ongoing energy crisis for UK organisations, which can be viewed in full here. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme has been designed to allow organisations to plan and budget properly for the winter period, which is essential during the current energy crisis prompted by the economic impacts of COVID-19 and ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.
The bill backs Zenergi’s view that remaining in a contract is the most secure way to proceed. We encourage organisations to not put off signing contracts for the meantime, despite energy suppliers reigning in operations to digest the news and plan recovery measures….
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Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on September 8 promising assistance for businesses, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has released additional information regarding the financial support that will be given to businesses to manage energy costs during the winter months.
Customers with a non-domestic energy account, such as companies, nonprofit organisations, and public institutions like hospitals and schools, will be eligible for support under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), which will be in effect from 1 October to 31 March for a period of six months. After three months, the programme will be assessed to determine whether additional help for some business categories is necessary.
All non-domestic customers will be eligible for the support, with the exception of those on current fixed-term contracts with a price agreed upon before 1 April 2022. As a result, the following clients will be qualified for assistance:
We are working to ensure that all of our suppliers provide you with this support automatically on your October bills from the start of November. For out-of-contract customers, please continue to engage with your Zenergi group contacts regards pending contract renewals.
We will be providing budget guidance for our clients and more information regards how the exact discount will be calculated in the coming days. More details of the government support scheme, the level of support and how it will apply for different contract types are available on Energy Bill Relief Scheme: help for businesses and other non-domestic customers – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
We are working through the detail of this morning’s government announcement, and will be in touch to confirm what this means for our customers.
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Liz Truss made a statement on 8 September regarding a number of measures that the UK government would start to implement for all domestic energy users in the UK. Among other important takeaways from this announcement, Truss suggested that all companies, charitable organisations, and governmental bodies will receive assistance with an equivalent guarantee; for a period of six months. To ensure that those who need it most get support, further assistance will be provided to other vulnerable sectors after these first six months. This assistance will be decided upon following a review that will be finished in three months…] […we want to outline a few points that we believe are crucial to mention.
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Today, Prime Minister Liz Truss unveiled her plan to stem the energy crisis. The plan confirmed the expected cap on domestic energy bills that will reduce the average household’s annual energy bill by £1,000, being capped at £2,500 annually for two years.
The plan confirms “equivalent support” for businesses and the public sector for 6 months with a review on “vulnerable industries” thereafter. We are speaking with suppliers to understand more about what this means in practice for all our customers, and will be reviewing the detail once released by the government to help you understand what needs to happen now.
