Government’s energy bill relief has removed serious risk for a quarter of businesses
In response to the UK Government’s introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), the Institute of Directors has found that 24% of business leaders believe that the energy price cap has removed a serious risk to their business.
In its poll of nearly 500 directors, of those reporting energy making up more than 5% of their costs, the IoD also found that:
- 5% stated that they would have stopped trading if it were not for the energy price cap this winter
- 11% stated that they have been able to keep our premises open for longer because of the energy price cap
- 35% stated that having the energy price cap this winter has made it easier for their business to plan
Alex Hall-Chen (she/her), a senior policy advisor at the Institute of Directors, said:
“We know that the cost of energy has been a significant concern for business. However, our data shows that the Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme has been a crucial intervention, removing a serious risk to around a quarter of businesses. This suggests that the government was right to introduce the scheme in order to provide sufficient time to identify the characteristics of those businesses.
“We therefore urge the government to continue the EBRS for sectors of the economy particularly vulnerable to current fluctuations in international energy markets. To this end, we are concerned that no provision was made for the extension of the scheme beyond March 2023 in the policy costings that accompanied the Autumn Statement.”
Full survey results
485 responses, conducted between 11th-29th November 2022
Please estimate the proportion of your organisation’s total costs that are made up of energy costs.
| 0-5% | 48% |
| 6-10% | 22% |
| 11-15% | 10% |
| 16-20% | 6% |
| Over 20% | 4% |
| Don’t know | 10% |
These questions are about the impact of the government’s energy bill relief scheme for business that was announced in September. It is sometimes referred to as the energy price cap for business. To what extent do you agree, or disagree, with each of the following statements?
Total responses: 207 (those for whom energy makes up over 5% of costs)
| Strongly agree | Agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Don’t know | |
| We would have stopped trading if it were not for the energy price cap this winter | 1% | 4% | 19% | 42% | 33% | 2% |
| We have been able to keep our premises open for longer because of the energy price cap | 0% | 10% | 32% | 32% | 20% | 5% |
| The energy price cap has removed a serious risk to our business | 5% | 19% | 34% | 23% | 17% | 2% |
| Having the energy price cap has made our business more profitable this winter | 1% | 24% | 32% | 22% | 16% | 4% |
| The energy price cap is helpful, but it is not the deciding factor determining the future of our business | 25% | 48% | 15% | 5% | 4% | 2% |
| Having the energy price cap this winter has made it easier for our business to plan | 8% | 27% | 39% | 13% | 11% | 2% |
| The energy price cap hasn’t really affected our business | 15% | 27% | 30% | 13% | 12% | 2% |
