The UK Government’s plans to help cut energy bills

The newly formed UK Government has announced a series of measures over the past week to help individuals and businesses with soaring energy costs.

Support for households – Energy Price Guarantee

On Thursday 8 September, the UK Government launched the Energy Price Guarantee for households. The scheme will limit the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas, meaning a typical UK household will pay on average £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years from 1st October.

The guarantee replaces the existing price cap set by Ofgem in August and is expected to save the average household £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. This is in addition to the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme, which will be applied automatically by your energy supplier in 6 monthly instalments from October.

Support for businesses – Energy Bill Relief Scheme

On Wednesday 21 September, the UK Government announced a new scheme that will protect non-domestic energy customers such as businesses, charities and public sector organisations from rising energy costs.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will fix wholesale prices, which is set to be less than half the wholesale prices anticipated this winter, for the next 6 months.

The discount will be automatically applied by suppliers to eligible bills and will vary for fixed or variable contracts.

If your business is not connected to either the gas or electricity grid, equivalent support will also be provided for those who use heating oil or alternative fuels instead of gas. We expect further details on this to be announced shortly.

You can read more about the Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme on the Gov website.

We will continue to share information that will help to alleviate the burden during the cost of living crisis and will provide detailed analysis after the mini-budget.

To discuss your circumstances, please get in touch with your usual EQ contact or call one of our offices.