Energy support for farms

Universal energy support for businesses, including farms

The Government introduced a series of support schemes in 2022 and 2023 to help customers with rising energy prices. It did not introduce specific support for farms, but farms can access the general support available to non-domestic customers, summarised below. Detailed information about each scheme is provided in the Library briefing Constituency casework: Government support for energy bills published 20 March 2023.

The Government support schemes targeted at non-domestic customers are:

• Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS): a discount on non-domestic electricity and gas prices over the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 (see section 4 of the constituency casework briefing. Customers in Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETIIs) [PDF] are considered to be particularly vulnerable to higher energy prices, and so will receive a higher level of support under the EBDS. However farming sectors that use more energy, such as horticulture and poultry, are not included the definition of ETIIs The National Farmers Union has called on the Government to review this position.

• Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS): a discount on non-domestic electricity and gas unit prices over the period 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 (see section 5 of the constituency casework briefing).
• Non-domestic Alternative Fuel Payments (ND-AFP): a one-off payment of at least £150 for non-domestic customers who are not on the mains gas grid and use an alternative fuel for heating, to cover winter 2022-23. The Government has also said that a ‘top up’ payment will be available for large users of heating oil (see section 6 of the constituency case briefing).

The Government has also introduced support schemes for domestic customers, which some microbusinesses may be eligible for if they hold a domestic electricity contract with an energy supplier. Farm households with a domestic electricity contract are also eligible:

• Energy Price Guarantee (EPG): a cap on domestic electricity and gas unit prices over the period 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2024 (see section 2 of the constituency casework briefing).

• Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS), including the EBSS Alternative Fund: a one-off £400 payment to households to help with bills over winter 2022-23 (see section 3 the constituency casework briefing).

Some customers buy their energy from a third-party intermediary rather than from an electricity or gas supplier. This could be a landlord or a heat network, for example. To ensure support reaches the end users, the Government has legislated pass-through requirements for the EBRS, AFP, EPG and EBSS requiring third-party intermediaries to pass on benefits to end users, including non-domestic end-users (see section 7 of the constituency casework briefing).

Wider energy support for businesses

The Library briefing Constituency casework: help with energy bills for businesses, voluntary sector and public sector organisations, published 20 March 2023, has information on wider support available to non-domestic customers, including farms. For example funding to help install energy efficiency measures. It also provides links to sources of advice on energy bills.

General support for farms

Wider support for farms is provided under the Government's Agricultural Transition Plan 2021-24. The Library briefing Farm funding: implementing new approaches explains how direct payments, based on how much land is farmed, are being phased out by the end of 2027. New schemes paying farmers and land managers for 'public goods' such as environmental and animal health improvements are being introduced. The Government has committed to maintaining overall farm funding at current levels for this Parliament.

Press and parliamentary material

The documents linked at the top of this page set out relevant recent Parliamentary material and news links.