The treasury has announced a scaled-back energy support scheme for businesses from the start of April.
A new energy scheme for businesses, charities, and the public sector has now been confirmed ahead of the current support ending in March.
But from April, the support level will be reduced to just £5.5 billion of energy bill discounts after “unprecedented support” was estimated at £18 billion in the six months to March, under the existing scheme.
All eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users will receive a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024.
The new measures will see firms get a discount on wholesale prices rather than their costs being capped as under the current scheme, which began in October.
Industries using high levels of energy, such as steel, glass and ceramic producers, are expected to get a larger discount than those in other sectors.
The British Chambers of Commerce said more than a third of firms admitted they were having difficulty paying their energy bills even with the existing government support.
