A new scheme to help businesses with their rising energy bills is set to be unveiled in the House of Commons today (Monday, January 9).
The scheme is expected to be significantly less than the current Energy Support Plan, which Chancellor Jeremy Hunt described as "unsustainably expensive". The current cap on the cost of a unit of electricity or gas for businesses will expire in March, and the government has faced calls from across the business sector for a continuation of the support.
Sources have told PA that the replacement scheme will give a discount on wholesale prices, not a fixed price, with very heavy energy-using sectors – such as steel, glass and ceramics industries – getting a larger discount than other businesses. The new scheme is set to last an additional year, until March 2024.
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No 11 has rolled the pitch for the levels of support to be scaled back, arguing the current scheme estimated to cost more than £18 billion cannot be sustained forever. Mr Hunt last week told business leaders the level of support was unsustainable and reiterated it was always limited to run for six months.
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Extending the scheme in its current form could “cost tens of billions of pounds” depending on wholesale energy prices, he argued. The Government’s Bill may also be cut thanks to sharp recent falls in wholesale energy prices, driven by unseasonably warm weather, which has reduced the amount of gas that households and businesses need to use for heating and allowed European gas reserves to hold up well.
The support package covers not just businesses, but also charities and public-sector organisations, including schools and hospitals.
Mel James-Henry, Liverpool CAMRA Branch Chair, said: "The continued rise in energy bills is putting the future of the pub and breweries at risk. Pubs and breweries operating at a loss is unsustainable.
"Pubs are a lifeline, especially when customers maybe struggling with their own energy costs and use them as a place to keep warm. Pubs bring people together, reducing social isolation."
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