Government support for businesses (the Energy Bills Discount Scheme)

The government is continuing to support businesses with high energy costs

This began with the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), which ran from October 2022 until March 2023.

In April 2023, the government replaced EBRS with EBDS, which is running until 31st March 2024.

Like EBRS, EBDS provides a discount on energy

This helps businesses manage high prices by reducing the cost per unit of electricity and gas. In turn, this makes it easier for businesses to reduce what they’re spending on energy.

The unit rate reduction is different for businesses in Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII). These will receive a bigger discount on the first 70% of their energy consumption. The rest of their usage then receives the non-ETII EBDS discount.

Head to the government's ETII page to check whether you’re in an ETII industry and apply for the ETII discount.

All types of non-domestic customers may qualify for EBDS

As well as businesses, this includes charities, schools and hospitals.

To qualify for the discount, the organisation needs to be on:

• a fixed price contract that began on or after 1st December 2021 (including new ones)
• a deemed or out of contract tariff
• flexible purchase or a similar contract

To qualify, the wholesale element of a business' unit rate must be over the government threshold

This is the part of a unit rate that’s determined by wholesale costs. The table below shows the thresholds for different fuel types.

For most customers that qualify, we’ll apply EBDS automatically

If you qualify and are non-ETII, we’ll apply the discount to your unit rates. You’ll see EBDS breakdowns on your invoices from May onwards.

If you’re in an ETII industry, head to the government website to register for this higher discount.

There are other types of support available outside of EBDS

We've created new solutions for customers whose support has reduced now that EBRS has ended. You can read about them here.

We've also written about how we're supporting customers and keeping energy fair during the energy crisis.

You may also be eligible for the Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP)

This is another government scheme to help businesses with their energy bills. It's a £150 payment for customers that use alternative fuels for heating, instead of electricity or gas.

We've paid the AFP into the accounts of businesses that we know are eligible. If you think you're eligible but you haven't received it, you can apply for it on the government website.

FAQs