About the EBDS scheme
This scheme replaces the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and will run from the 1st April 2023 to the 31st March 2024. The scheme is made up of three parts:
- The baseline discount will provide some support with energy bills for eligible non-domestic customers and will be applied automatically to your bills.
Most customers will not see additional support on their energy bills from April 2023 due to the current wholesale prices. Any support is likely to be significantly reduced compared to the EBRS scheme.
2. The Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) discount will provide a higher level of support to businesses and organisations in eligible sectors – you will need to register to get this support
3. The Heat Network discount will provide a higher level of support to heat networks with domestic end consumers – you need to register to get this support
Eligible ETII or Heat Network organisations will need to take action to receive the higher level of support.
We will not be able to apply the ETII or the HNS discount rate until eligibility has been confirmed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. You should continue to pay your bill as normal until the discount is applied.
Most eligible customers receiving the baseline discount should expect to see it in their April bill produced in May.
Eligibility for the EBDS baseline discount
The scheme will be 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 1st December 2021
- signing new fixed price contracts
- on deemed/out of contract contracts
- on flexible contracts
How the baseline discount is applied
Eligible customers will receive a per-unit discount to their energy bills. This is subject to a maximum discount.
The relative discount will be applied if wholesale prices are above a certain price threshold. For most non-domestic energy users 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 and the price threshold.
The discount is phased in when the contract’s wholesale price exceeds the floor price, until the total discount per MWh reaches the maximum discount for that fuel. The discount is only applied to the wholesale element of the bill and therefore the final per unit price paid by customers will differ as it includes other costs such as network charges and operating costs.
For up to date information on the EBDS scheme please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bills-discount-scheme
Eligibility for ETII support
You must have non-domestic contract and be:
- on an existing fixed price contract that has a price fix date on or after 1st December 2021
- Signing a new fixed price contract
- on a deemed/out of contract contract
- on a flexible contract
Your business should also be able to prove that at least 50% of its revenue is being generated from UK-based activity within one of the eligible SIC code sectors.
For Local Authorities, eligibility will be determined at a premise level. The Local Authority will be required to declare that at least 50% of the space is taken up by operations within an eligible sector.
Eligible organisations will need to apply for the higher support via a digital portal that will open on the EBDS gov.uk page in early April. Organisations will need to provide information on their organisation, energy supplier, relevant energy supply contract(s) references and applicable meter point references. The government will determine eligibility based on the application.
The support you will be eligible to receive
Eligible customers will receive a discount reflecting the difference between the price threshold and the relevant wholesale price. The thresholds are:
Electricity – £185 per MWh
Gas – £99 per MWh
This discount will only apply to 70% of energy volumes and will be subject to a maximum discount of £40.0/MWh for gas and £89/MWh for electricity. The baseline level of support will apply for the remaining 30% of energy volumes where the wholesale price meets the baseline eligibility criteria. The discount will be displayed as one line on your bill as we will do one calculation for the overall discount you are owed.
For up to date information for ETIIs and to start the application process please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bills-discount-scheme-energy-and-trade-intensive-industries-support
Eligibility for heat network support
Heat networks will be eligible for the higher level of support if:
- they meet the definition of a heat network as defined in the EBDS Regulations
- are supplied gas or electricity by a licensed supplier for the purposes of generating heat
- serve one or more domestic end consumers
How the discount is applied
This scheme aims to bring retail energy prices paid by heat networks down to a specific heat network Minimum Supply Price. This should ensure that domestic customers on heat networks do not face disproportionately higher heat and hot water bills when compared to customers in equivalent households who are supported by the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG).
There are no maximum discounts or wholesale price thresholds for heat networks. This is different to the approach taken for other parts of the Energy Bill Discount Scheme or the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
The scheme will support the wholesale element of a heat network’s energy tariff, up to the point that the Minimum Supply Price is achieved. The Minimum Supply Prices will be set as:
Electricity – £340 per MWh
Gas – £78.3 per MWh
After their application for the scheme has been approved, heat networks will receive the new discount rate from Corona Energy. They will then need to pass this onto their domestic customers.
