Energy Bills Discount Scheme
Find out about the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) for non-domestic customers.
Scheme closed
The Energy Bills Discount Scheme ran for 12 months from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The scheme is now closed.
This scheme replaced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which supported businesses and organisations between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023.
About the scheme
The scheme is made up of 3 different parts:
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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
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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
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The Heat Network discount provides a higher level of support to heat networks with domestic end consumers – you need to apply for this support
After 25 July 2023, ETIIs can only apply for the higher level of support if they became eligible after 26 April 2023. New organisations or newly eligible organisations will have 90 days to apply from the date at which they become eligible.
Heat suppliers that were eligible for the higher level of support on 26 April must apply as soon as possible. If you supply a heat network that became eligible after 26 April, you must apply within 90 days of when the network became eligible.
You should continue to pay your bills as normal until the discount is applied.
The Energy Bills Discount Scheme was established in regulations made under the Energy Prices Act 2022. The regulations came into force on 26 April 2023. The discount will apply to bills from 1 April 2023.
Eligibility for the EBDS baseline discount
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)
The support you may be eligible to receive
Most non-domestic customers will not see additional support on their energy bills from April and any support is likely to be significantly reduced. It is important that organisations continue to shop around for the best deals as the actual price you pay for your energy will vary between energy suppliers.
How the baseline discount is 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.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 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. 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 non-domestic customers will differ as it includes other costs such as network charges and operating costs, which is why it is important you continue to shop around to find the best deal.
Daily discount rates available for business and other non-domestic energy users on fixed, default and variable contracts are published on gov.uk.
Non-standard cases
Comparable support will be extended to non-domestic customers that use energy provided by licence-exempt suppliers, where prices paid are pegged to wholesale prices. This is energy taken from the public electricity or gas grid, or who receive electricity or gas via wire or pipe. Read more information about this support.
EBDS legislation, rules and guidance
The Energy Prices Act 2022 provided government with the powers to:
- establish the EBDS
- ensure scheme benefits are passed on to consumers
- provide for an effective compliance and enforcement regime
Further information about the scheme
You can:
- read the rules and methodology for this scheme
- find the guidance and templates to help you apply for ETII and heat networks support
- find out the discount rates
- learn more about non-standard cases
Contact DESNZ
If you want to raise an issue about the scheme, for example fraud or suspicious activity, visit our contact DESNZ page and select the appropriate option.
Updates to this page
Last updated 24 July 2023 + show all updates
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Updated with more information about who can apply for the higher level of support after 25 July 2023
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Updated to include information on non-standard cases.
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Updated with information about the EBDS scheme and how it will work following a content review. Also included links to the guidance on how EBDS will work for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries and heat networks.
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Updated to reflect other published documents
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First published.