The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has welcomed the UK government’s announcement which outlined plans to help cut energy bills for businesses, but says it might be too little too late for some.
Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which aims to provide help for businesses and other non-domestic customers over the coming winter by setting wholesale prices expected to be £211/MWh for electricity and £75/MWh for gas.
Responding to the announcement, FUW president Glyn Roberts said:
“Until now, there has been much focus on domestic energy prices and the need for government intervention to help families, and rightly so given the expected price rises in October, but energy prices for businesses have attracted far less attention.
“In January 2022, we warned that the situation for businesses was already dire, with a letter to the then Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng, highlighting that dairy farmers in Wales were already facing increases in energy costs of up to £1,000 a month, on top of huge pressures due to increased costs for inputs such as fertiliser.
“At that time, we called on Kwarteng to implement policies which would negate the severe impacts of rising energy prices for Welsh and UK businesses.
“This announcement of support for businesses and other non-domestic consumers is therefore welcomed and is better late than never, but the FUW is concerned that it may have come too late for some businesses.”
