Incoming UK Prime Minister Liz Truss is finalizing plans for a £40 billion ($46 billion) support package to lower energy bills for businesses.
Truss is considering two options, either setting a guaranteed unit price that businesses will pay, or a percentage or unit price reduction that all energy suppliers must offer firms, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.
The government would agree to reimburse energy suppliers for their losses and the price of energy charged to businesses would be reviewed quarterly.
The policy will be announced this month, and the aim is to implement in October when many companies’ energy contracts are ending, according to the people. Officials are in the process of drafting emergency legislation.
The household policy could cost as much as £130 billion over the next 18 months. If the program for businesses lasted for six months, it would cost about £40 billion, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. The plan for business is cheaper than Truss’s proposal to help households because industrial users are typically able to negotiate lower energy prices.
The unit price could be further reduced for some sectors in order to target support for industries that are particularly vulnerable to high prices, including factories, hospitality and leisure.
