What the Government is Doing for You on Energy Bills
Rt Hon Greg Hands MP for Chelsea and Fulham reporting back
Greg Hands MP
Dear Resident,
Current inflation is being driven by rising energy costs, provoked by surging demand after the Covid-19 Pandemic as well as Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine, which have caused immense challenges for our country, and this has, in turn, put significant pressures on living costs.
The Government is ensuring that the policies put in place help those who need it most. This has included taking steps to help the lowest-income households through these extraordinary times by reducing the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing the National Living Wage.
Since Ofgem’s confirmation of the first price cap rise, the Government has put forward an ambitious support package to help both lower and middle-income earners with the immediate adjustment.
This includes a £400 grant for energy bills for all. Further, a non-repayable £150 cash rebate is being provided for homes in Council Tax bands A-D. Families on lower income will be eligible for even more financial help.
From 1 October the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) which will give people certainty with their bills by discounting the unit cost for gas and electricity use. This means, that a typical household will pay no more than £2,500 per year for each of the next two years. You do not need to apply, and there is no need to contact your energy supplier – the discount is automatic.
In addition, the Chancellor's Growth Plan will see millions of people keeping more of their earnings. The Basic Rate of income tax will be cut to 19 per cent next year, meaning 31 million people will keep an extra £170 per year. Additionally, the cancellation of the National Insurance rise will mean 28 million people will keep an extra £330 per year.
The Government also recognises the impact rising energy prices have on businesses of all sizes.
Through the new Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the Government will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers. This will include all UK businesses, the voluntary sector like charities and the public sector such as schools and hospitals. This support will be equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee put in place for households.
The Government will be implementing a Supported Wholesale Price which is a discounted price per unit of gas and electricity. This price is expected to be £211 per MWh for electricity and £75 per MWh for gas, less than half the wholesale prices anticipated this winter.
This support is very welcome for my constituents and businesses in Fulham and Chelsea.
Kind regards,
Greg Hands
The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP
Member of Parliament for Chelsea and Fulham
You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for @GregHands
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
October 3, 2022