The new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has announced the Government’s plans to support businesses and households with their energy costs over the coming months.
The details are available on the Government website, and thekey points for business are:
- A new six-month scheme to cap prices for businesses and other non-domestic energy users, including charities and public sector organisations like schools
- After this initial six-month scheme, the Government said it will provide ongoing, focused support for vulnerable industries
- There will be a review in 3 months’ time to consider where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support.
- A new Energy Supply Taskforce will be launched to negotiate new long term energy contracts with domestic and international suppliers of energy
- Low carbon generators who do not have a CfD will be brought into a long term fixed price contract
- A £40bn scheme to boost liquidity in the wholesale market which will see the Government, working alongside the Bank of England - HM Treasury and Bank of England to launch the Energy Markets Financing Scheme (EMFS) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- A review to ensure we are meeting our Net Zero 2050 target in an economically-efficient way, given the altered economic landscape. Chaired by Chris Skidmore MP and reporting by the end of this year, it will ensure delivering the target is not placing undue burdens on businesses or consumers
More support for UK businesses - many of which have been struggling during these challenging times - is vital, so this is undoubtedly welcome news. We’re fully behind any measures to help businesses navigate the coming months and to keep net zero ambitions alive.
What happens next?
We know our customers will have many questions about what this means for their contracts and energy bills.
The immediate steps are:
- We are working closely with Government to fully understand the details of the proposals
- We will assess how we’ll implement this for our customers
- We will proactively be in touch with you to discuss how this will impact your organisation.
Businesses are the backbone of the UK economy, and we are committed to supporting them through these difficult times.
