Energy Bills Discount Scheme
The Government has announced details of its support for business energy prices from April 2023.
Under this new scheme, eligible non-domestic consumers will receive a per-unit discount to their energy bills during the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024, 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 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 MWh with a price threshold of £107 per MWh
Energy and Trade Intensive Industries will receive a higher level of support. Further details of the scheme, including which businesses are eligible as Energy and Trade Intensive Industries, can be found on the government website.
Theatres Trust Director Jon Morgan comments:
While we welcome the announcement of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme which will extend government support for business energy prices until 2024, the support is at a significantly lower level than the previous scheme. Gas bills are still around three to four times higher than the long-term average and overall energy costs will remain a significant cost pressure for theatres.
Many theatres were already struggling as the sector was particularly badly affected by the pandemic and had no time to rebuild before the cost-of-living crisis hit. There are already reports of theatres considering reducing opening hours or heated spaces open to public, or even making redundancies. While our energy usage does not match that of other industries, it still accounts for a high proportion of our overall costs, and crucially we are a sector that is already operating within very tight margins.
It is now vital that theatres are supported to invest in energy reduction measures before next winter, so they can reduce their overall energy usage and contribute to Net Zero. While there is a great awareness and commitment to carbon reduction in the sector alongside fantastic guidance in the Theatre Green Book, which we are a lead partner on, post-Covid, most theatres do not have the resources to implement the changes that are needed.
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