What is the Energy Bills Discount Scheme?

Government support for non-domestic energy bills explained.

Running from 1^st April 2023 through to 31^st March 2024, the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) replaces the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which ended on 31^st March 2023 and aims to provide support to customers most impacted by higher energy costs.

How does the discount work?

If the wholesale price of energy on the day you agreed your contract is above the current Government price threshold, you’ll receive a discount. This discount will be applied until businesses reach the Maximum Discount or the wholesale price meets the Government price threshold, whichever happens first.

If your business energy contract is eligible, then there are savings to be made on bills but this discount is wholly dependent on the energy rate that you are signed up to.

Am I eligible?

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 1 December 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)

How do I apply?

There's no need for most businesses to apply for a discount. As with the EBRS, energy suppliers will automatically apply reductions to the bills of all eligible non-domestic customers. But if your business is one of the listed Energy Trade Intensive Industries, then you will need to apply for the discount.

What other help is there for my business?

As professionals in the industry, understanding the details of the scheme will allow you to guide homeowners effectively and provide them with the best advice. In this blog post, we will discuss the recent changes to the scheme, focusing on the increased funding limit, as well as the benefits of transitioning from boilers to air source heat pumps, insulation requirements and additional incentives for installing Daikin air source heat pumps.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) supports the decarbonisation of heat in buildings providing upfront capital gains grants to support the installation of air source heat pumps and biomass boilers in homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales.

As of Monday 23^rd October 2023, installers are able to apply for the newly increased grants amounts of £7,500 for both air and ground source heat pumps and £5,000 for biomass pumps. This guidance is predominantly aimed at MCS installers which is why we urge businesses to seek advice from a certified mechanical and electrical engineer on how to access the best grants available for them.