Company bosses are increasingly worried about the prospect of delays in the arrival of support as fixed power contracts expire in October for hundreds of thousands of businesses. Business leaders had been told by government officials at recent meetings that the support program for companies might not be ready until November, the Financial Times reported, although it cited officials as hoping the package could still be activated next month. Companies in many sectors of the economy have warned for weeks that they may not survive the winter as a result of rising energy bills. Pubs and breweries are among those sounding the alarm that any delay in the government’s support package could force more businesses to close, causing job losses. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of industry body the British Beer and Pub Association, said these businesses “will not be able to wait days, let alone months, to get clarity on their energy bill. Many are making decisions now about whether they should close this winter. “We urgently need clarity on whether this cap will deliver for businesses and help them emerge from a crisis that has been building for months and urge the chancellor to seriously consider what immediate assurances he can provide for the thousands of business owners who they are currently in despair. “ Companies have broadly welcomed the six-month support program announced last week by the new prime minister, Liz Truss, but are still awaiting details on how it will work. The support offered to households will freeze their energy bills by an average of £2,500 a year for the next two years from October 1, replacing Ofgem’s existing energy price cap. However, the separate scheme described as offering ‘equivalent support’ to businesses is more complicated because they are not covered by the energy price cap. Ministers and officials are reportedly struggling to find a mechanism to set a cap on business energy costs. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. An emergency budget to provide more detail on energy support and introduce winter tax cuts for millions of people is expected by the government late next week, when the UK emerges from national mourning following the Queen’s death. Trass is under pressure from her own party to present her economic plans as soon as possible. No 10 has previously said no legislation would be needed to introduce the household energy support package as it would include guarantees between the government and private energy suppliers. However, it is believed that some legislation may be needed to establish business support.
