As we are now in the new year all businesses are eagerly waiting for any information on what they can expect in terms of support when it comes to their energy bills.
Jeremy Hunt recently met with business leaders to discuss plans for businesses beyond March. The current energy bill relief scheme began in October and has been discounting the wholesale price of those on fixed rate contracts to 21.p/kWh for electricity and 7.5p/kWh for gas.
The chancellor met with business leaders to hear their concerns about the cost of energy. Business groups that attended the meeting included CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses, UK hospitality, the Institute of Directors, and the British Chamber of Commerce.
The government have announced that they cannot possibly uphold the current support any longer stating that “no government can permanently shield businesses from this energy price shock”. The current cost has already been estimated at around £20bn until the end of March.
The government have said if they carried on after March the price could increase to billions of pounds if international energy markets begin to rise again as they are expected to.
For the government, it is vital to ensure that the taxpayers’ exposure to such high energy prices is kept at a minimum. However, to settle economic difficulties, it is vital that we do not see the closure of too many businesses.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has reassured that businesses will still receive support but, it will be at a lower level to reduce costs and will be designed to help businesses transition to a new higher-price environment.
A more detailed announcement will be given by the government next week. For now, it has been announced that the government plans to half the current level of support and that the scheme could possibly run until March 2024.
Although government support has been running for around 3 months now, business groups have revealed that many businesses are still struggling with energy bills with the current level of support.
This means if business support is halved it could be detrimental to a lot of businesses. If your business is already struggling with energy costs we would suggest you look at ways of reducing your consumption over the next few months before your bills rise in March.
If you're looking to save money on your energy bills then why not get in touch today? The relationships Resolve Energy has developed with over 24 of the UK’s biggest business energy suppliers allows our energy experts to source the best business energy rates available for your company right when you need them. Request a free quote today and start saving money on your energy.
