The motor sector has welcomed government moves to help businesses with rising energy bills.
The Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg today unveiled a new government Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
The government will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers 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.
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.
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.
This is equivalent to the wholesale element of the Energy Price Guarantee for households. It includes the removal of green levies paid by non-domestic customers who receive support under the scheme.
The level of price reduction for each business will vary depending on their contract type and circumstances.
Sue Robinson, chief executive of The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), said: “NFDA welcomes Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme, supporting franchised dealers at a critical time with their rising energy bills.
Last month, NFDA reported that members have experienced unprecedented hikes in energy costs of up to 250%, over the past six months.
“An energy price cap will help mitigate a substantial amount of further energy price rises and will relieve franchised dealers of considerable amounts of financial pressure. Reducing the chances of job losses and business closures.
“Whilst six months of Government support to combat the energy crisis is invaluable to our members, NFDA is concerned that energy prices will remain at this unsustainable level beyond this six month support period, therefore we urge government to consider extending their support to a year, offering the energy market time to stabilise.”