A number of helping hands have been introduced by the Government amid the cost of living crisis (Picture: Getty Images)
The rising cost of living has seen millions of Britons struggling to make ends meet.
Everything from bills to shopping essentials has gone up in price, leaving many pinching pennies in any way they can.
Many businesses have been affected by the rising costs, with many still recovering following the coronavirus pandemic.
The Government has introduced a number of measures to help people combat the costs, including numerous schemes to offer a helping hand.
One such offer is the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) – but who is eligible, how can you apply, and what do you get?
Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Energy Bills Discount Scheme?
The EBDS is set to be a helping hand to tackle the rising cost of living when it comes to affording your energy bills.
The Energy Bills Discount Scheme is designed to help businesses (Picture: Getty Images)
The scheme will run for 12 months from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.
It replaces the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which supported businesses and organisations between October 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.
The scheme is made up of three parts.
The baseline discount provides some support with energy bills for eligible non-domestic customers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland – this support is applied automatically
The Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) discount provides a higher level of support to businesses and organisations in eligible sectors – you need to apply for this support
The Heat Network discount provides a higher level of support to heat networks with domestic end consumers – you need to apply for this support
Who is eligible?
UK businesses and organisations can apply for the EBDS for a discount on their energy bills.
You must meet a number of criteria to be eligible for the scheme (Picture: Getty Images)
The scheme is available to everyone on a non-domestic energy supply contract with a licensed energy supplier including:
Businesses
Voluntary sector organisations, such as charities
Public sector organisations such as schools, hospitals, and care homes
Who are:
On existing fixed price contracts that were agreed on or after December 1, 2021
Signing new fixed-price contracts
On deemed/out of contract or variable tariffs, or
On flexible purchase (or similar) contracts
On variable ‘Day Ahead Index’ (DAI) tariffs (Northern Ireland scheme only)
You may also need to provide further information from your business or organisation to aid with your application.
How can you apply and what do you get?
To apply for the EBDS, you can find relevant online links through the Government website to check your eligibility and apply.
The scheme can be applied for online (Picture: Getty Images)
Eligible organisations will have 90 days from April 26, 2023, to apply for the higher support – which means they have until July 25, 2023.
This is slightly different for new organisations or newly eligible organisations, who will have 90 days to apply from the date at which they become eligible.
Once they have applied, eligible non-domestic customers will receive a per-unit discount to their energy bills during the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024.
The relative discount will be applied if wholesale prices are above a certain price threshold, subject to a maximum discount.
For most non-domestic energy users in Great Britain and Northern Ireland these threshold prices and maximum discounts have been set at:
Electricity – £19.61 per megawatt-hour (MWh) with a price threshold of £302 per MWh
Gas – £6.97 per megawatt-hour (MWh) a price threshold of £107 per MWh
The discount is calculated as the difference between the wholesale price associated with an energy contract and the price threshold.
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