UK businesses will continue getting government help with their energy bills after the current support package of nearly £20bn expires at the end of March, but the level of support is likely to fall sharply.
Business groups including the CBI, the British Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses and UK Hospitality met Chancellor Jeremy Hunt at the Treasury today.
Hunt told them that support for energy bills will be cut in April but was reported to have offered no detail on what the level of support will be, apart from that it will be lower.
It was suggested that heavy energy users or those in vulnerable sectors will get a similar level of support to the current package.
But the cost to the public purse has been high, with the Office for Budget Responsibility calculating the current six-month scheme is costing close to £20bn.
But natural gas prices have tumbled from their highs last year, driven by warm temperatures, with European futures prices falling to below 180p a therm this week - the lowest since mid-January last year and well below the 329p when Russia invaded Ukraine and peak above 875p in August.