End of EBRS: our solutions to give small businesses lower prices

• Lots of small businesses are facing an increase in energy costs due to the Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) ending
• The worst hit are businesses that took out fixed tariffs in mid to late 2022, when energy costs were at their highest
• To help with this, our affected fixed tariff customers will now be eligible for 1 of these 2 options to bring down their energy bills:
• Blend & Extend tariffs?that bring customers’ prices down immediately by extending their contracts
• A 40% exit fee?that makes it much easier for customers to end their contract early and move to cheaper rates

The background to these increased costs

In 2022,?energy costs hit unprecedented levels. The Government introduced EBRS to help businesses manage these extremely high prices. It provided support to lots of our business customers, but it ended on 31st March 2023.

On 1st April 2023, the government replaced EBRS with?the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS). Like EBRS, EBDS offers discounts on businesses’ energy unit rates. But, compared to EBRS, fewer businesses qualify - and those who do receive much lower discounts.

This table shows the difference in support between EBRS and EBDS, split into?fixed tariff?and?variable tariff?customers:

This reduction of government support has made things harder for lots of businesses

Customers who joined on fixed tariffs in mid to late 2022 are the most affected. This is when energy costs were peaking, and many businesses fixed their prices at those levels.

Now EBRS has ended, businesses in that position are left with higher fixed prices for the rest of their contract.

We want to do everything we can to support those customers on fixed tariffs that are suffering as a result of this. So, we’ve introduced some solutions to bring down bills quickly.

Our contract options help customers hit by the end of EBRS

Typically, energy suppliers only change prices for businesses on fixed terms if they pay out their whole contract. But, we recognise that our customers need special help to get through this difficult time.

That’s why we’re offering these 2 solutions to reduce energy prices quickly. They offer ways for fixed contract customers to move to lower energy prices, long before their current contract ends.

Customers that were most affected by the end of EBRS are each eligible for one of them.

There's more information on our website

You can find out more - including how to get this support and the answers to FAQs - in our blog.