Government support for business energy bills is expected to be halved

When the existing support finishes after March, business groups expect government help with energy bills to be halved. Heavy energy users will receive support close to the current level.

Gas and electric prices have been fixed until the end of March 2023.

However, chancellor Jeremy Hunt told business groups that government support would be a "lower level" as they need to protect the public finances.

The "lower level" support is expected to run for 12 months until March 2024.

Support for businesses differs to households. Households are usually covered by an energy price cap, which limits the amount a supplier can charge per unit of energy - however this isn't the case for businesses.

After energy prices soared and we entered an energy crisis last year, the government introduced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which fixed costs to businesses. Many firms were at risk of closure, so this scheme was vital for their survival.

Although, the scheme came at a high cost to UK taxpayers which has caused some officials to consider only providing the support to "vulnerable businesses".

The government were supposed to share their decision on whether to extend the support before Christmas, but this got postponed until the start of 2023.

Many businesses and groups responded angrily to this delay as it damaged business confidence.

The exact details of the new scheme from April 2023 are expected to be released soon.

Article by BBC News