The government has announced a huge support package that will cut energy bills for UK businessses by around half their expected levels for the winter of 2022.
Called The Energy Bill Relief Scheme, it will fix gas and electricity prices for all companies for six months from 1st October 2022.
Other entities such as schools, hospitals and charities will also benefit from the support package. This will include other entities such as community halls and churches.
The announcement follows a £150bn plan that was introduced to help households with increasing energy costs for two years.
The government hopes the latest support on energy will help reduce mass bankruptcies and job losses, especially across the hospitality sector, but key industry personnell are not so sure.
Michael Kill CEO NTIA says:
“As the number of failing businesses we engage with escalates on a day to day basis, with many business owners and operators emotionally and mentally drained from over 3 years of uncertainty, questions are quite rightly being asked of the Government and its plans for the sector.”
“Time is quickly running out, with hundreds of businesses already unable to hold on, making irreversible decisions about their future, with thousands of jobs lost or at risk.”
“We have now reached such a crisis point that only immediate and large-scale interventions can save huge parts of the sector, with substantial cuts to VAT, an extension of business rates relief and a meaningful energy price freeze for Small Medium Enterprise businesses which is affordable.”
“On Friday we need a concise and detailed plan from the Government on how they will support businesses through this crisis, nothing less than this is acceptable.”
Reference: https://ntia.co.uk/ntia-says-3-out-of-4-night-time-economy-businesses-are-on-a-financial-cliff-edge/
The scheme, revealed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industry, expects wholesale prices to be fixed for all non-domestic energy customers at £211 per MWh for electricity and £75 per MWh for gas for six months.
The discounts will be automatically applied to bills from October.