The UK Government has confirmed that their Energy Bill Relief Scheme has cleared all the legislative hurdles and as of 1 November customers should see both gas and electricity prices discounted where appropriate.
Also, bills will be backdated to 1 October. So you should see a credit on our account if your bill was more than the ‘capped’ rate of £211 p MwH for wholesale electricity and £75 per MwH for gas. The Government scheme is to cap wholesale prices only. Network, CCL and other charges are not included so will be added to your bill alongside the capped wholesale element.
Each customer is different, so you will need to confirm with your energy supply company what your new, maximum, unit rate will be.
As of yet, the Government hasn’t announced what comparable support there will be for businesses not on the gas grid. We are told they are working at pace on this and whatever scheme they devise will mirror the support available in GB.
As always, ‘shopping around’ is important so do make sure you contact not only your current provider but others too.
Also, this scheme is to support prices for 6 months only. Using the time available to develop a strategy which meets your business needs is important. For instance, perhaps certainty is important so you can accurately apply any gas or electricity costs to price of what you produce so locking in a price now is appropriate.
Or perhaps you would benefit from simply taking a chance that the wholesale market will reduce in the time ahead and you’d like to take a passthrough contract in whole or in part.
Or, whilst gas prices have reduced in recent weeks (which also impacts on wholesale electricity prices) for now commentators believe that prices for winter 2023/4 will be inflated so using the time until the end of March 2023, under the protection provided by the Government, to work closely with your supplier to secure a locked in deal from March 2023 to cover Winter 2023/4 would be useful.
You know your business needs best, but if you would like to discuss any of this then give Stephen Kelly a call.
Details of the EBRS available here: