The Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) and Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) scheme…
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), ends 31/03/23 and will be proceeded by the Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS), and the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) scheme, that will run from 01/04/23 – 31/03/24.
For clarification and help in understanding the below, please note that the commodity price threshold is the price at which electricity or gas has to be trading for the EBDS discount to kick in.
EBDS
Customers that agree a contract when the wholesale electricity price is above the threshold price of £302/MWh or the wholesale gas price is above the threshold of £107/MWh, will be eligible for a discount above those levels up to a maximum of £19.61/MWh for electricity and £6.97/MWh for gas. Suppliers will automatically apply the discount (up to the maximum level) for customers who:
- Agreed a fixed contract on or after 1 December 2021.
- Are on a deemed, out-of-contract or standard variable tariff.
- Are in a flexible supply contract.
Note, that EBDS thresholds are much higher compared to EBRS. So from April onwards, a customer’s commodity cost has to be higher for a discount to be applied. With softening commodity prices it is important that consumers manage expectations, because at current trading levels in mid-January 2023 commodity prices fall below the EBDS threshold for a discount. The energy market is liquid, and suppliers will monitor commodity prices and automatically apply EBDS at billing as appropriate. The end consumer does not have to take any action.
Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) scheme
Organisations who are particularly vulnerable to high energy prices due to their energy intensive and trade exposure, (referred to as Energy and Trade Intensive Industries or ETIIs), will receive a higher level of support, subject to a maximum discount. BEIS has published a full list of eligible sectors that will receive a larger discount to their energy bills if the wholesale prices for their contracts are above the EBDS ‘threshold prices’. BEIS has set those wholesale threshold prices at £185/MWh for electricity and £99/MWh for gas, meaning a discount will be applied above those levels to the bills of eligible ETIIs. The maximum discount of £89.1/MWh can be applied for electricity customers and £40/MWh for gas customers. However, those discounts can only apply to 70% of an ETII’s energy volumes.
At this time, we await BEIS to provide details and protocols on how companies with the relevant SIC code can apply for ETII eligibility. Note, Suppliers will not be responsible for determining ETII status.
