Lord says he has spoken to several operators that claim they haven't yet received any of the entitled support since it was introduced last September and now fear they will miss out altogether following the Government's announcement earlier this month that it will slash the level of energy support businesses receive from April.
”We also have evidence of energy providers who have either not yet applied any Government support payments to business accounts, or have not applied the full amounts owed, and we are urgently pressing Ofgem and the Government to investigate,” he says.
It comes after energy provider EDF admitted over the weekend that it is failing to pass on emergency government help with bills to about 2,000 small businesses.
EDF admitted to The Times that 'systems issues' meant that certain businesses had not received the correct state-funded discount.
The provider has reviewed accounts and is in the process to issue corrected bills, and has claimed incorrect bills amounted to less than 1% of its SME customers.
Wholesale gas and electricity prices are currently fixed for all non-domestic customers under the Government's Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which is set to expire at the end of March. Now it has been confirmed that this will be replaced by a scaled back Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which will see firms get a discount on wholesale prices rather than costs being capped.
However, Lord, who will meet with MPs next week to discuss the issue, warns that many operators will be unlikely to withstand the increased financial burden that the expected energy prices will bring.
“Pubs, bars and restaurants have been most damaged by the economic turbulence of the past three years, and support is now being pulled from under businesses that are only just beginning to recover,” he says.
“I'm hearing from pubs where monthly energy bills are exceeding rent payments, and others who have temporarily shut sites during the colder winter months to save on gas and electricity costs.”
One business that claims to have not received any support with its energy costs is Capuchin Coffee in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.
Another is Heaton Hops bar in Stockport.
“We still have not seen any Government support discount applied to our energy bills yet,” says the bar's director, Damien O'Shea.
Energy regulator Ofgem has been asked to intervene to examine whether subsidies are being correctly passed on to SMEs.
