Small businesses braced for jump in energy costs

Small businesses on fixed rate energy deals face a surge in their bills when the Government’s current Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends.

As of April, a cap on the price of gas and electricity will be replaced by a new scheme which offers a much less generous discount on energy bills. The Government has set aside £5.5 billion for the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which will last 12 months.

The current Energy Bill Relief Scheme has cost around £18 billion.

Paul Wilson, Policy Director for the Federation of Small Businesses, said “We will definitely see more businesses close, and if energy prices go back up to the high levels we’ve seen before, the number of closures will be much higher.” 

“We’re moving from a scheme that gives quite a high degree of certainty over the price that businesses are going to have to pay for electricity and gas, to one where you might get a very limited discount, and only in circumstances when the price you are paying goes over a certain threshold.”