The impact of the cost-of-living crisis is a major concern for everyone, and charities are no different, with extreme cases seeing not-for-profit organisations questioning whether to continue operating.
The recent Autumn Statement confirmed that the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), first introduced by Liz Truss, will continue as planned until 31 March 2023 – a welcome relief for many charities we work with.
The EBRS will be available to everyone on a non-domestic contract, including voluntary sector organisations, who are:
- on existing fixed price contracts that were agreed on / after 1 December 2021
- signing new fixed price contracts
- on deemed / out of contract or variable tariffs
- on flexible purchase or similar contracts
The discount will automatically be applied to eligible bills, so there is need to take action, or apply for the scheme.
Beyond the 31 March 2023 cut-off point for the ERBS, the government have confirmed that they will continue to review the scheme and publish a review in December on how they can continue to support charities moving forward.
The review will consider:
- how effective the scheme has been in giving support to vulnerable non-domestic customers
- which groups of non-domestic customers (by sector, size or geography) remain particularly vulnerable to energy price rises alongside other cost pressures
- how to continue supporting these customers (by extending the existing scheme for some non-domestic customers, or replacing with a different scheme)
Get in touch
With the worsening economic situation and Bank of England warnings that the UK will fall into a recession later this year, now is a great time to consider what you should do to prepare for the coming months. To discuss how you can recession-proof your organisation, get in touch with your usual PM+M adviser, or email enquiries@pmm.co.uk, and we will direct your query to the correct person.
