Energy support for businesses from April will be announced “next week,” says Grant Shapps.

Businesses can expect an update next week on what help they can get on their energy bills once the current support ends in the spring, the cabinet minister said.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt would make an announcement “very soon” with “more details” for companies to give them “a little more confidence” going forward.

The announcement comes after increased demand for clarification on what support will be provided to companies when the current scheme comes to an end. The current regulation, which is in effect until March 20, limits wholesale electricity and gas prices to about half the expected market price.

“I can tell you that the chancellor announced the review in his autumn statement,” Shapps said in an interview with BBC Radio 4. today program on Saturday.

“It’s coming out very soon, actually next week, with some details of the deal, so there’s going to be a little more confidence in that.”

The business electricity bill deduction is not linked to the Energy Price Guarantee, which protects residential customers from rising energy prices by limiting the amount suppliers can charge. Mr Hunt confirmed in his fall statement that the domestic price cap would remain in place for 12 months after April 2023, but that budget spending would increase by 20% if support was cut.

The current £18bn six-month support package for businesses expires at the end of March.

The government has previously said that only vulnerable companies will receive further support after this point, but I Earlier this week, it was reported that Treasury Department officials had concluded that the program’s “income test” would be overly complex, given the difficulty of determining which businesses are most in need of assistance.

Like households, support for businesses is also likely to be expanded to a less generous level from April, resulting in higher bills, although all businesses will still be eligible for support.

Asked if supporting some sectors and not others could mean picking winners and blaming the losers, Mr Shapps declined to comment.

“You trick me into doing the chancellor’s job for him. In fact, it will come out next week and go into detail about it,” he said.

The government has promised to give companies confidence in future aid plans by the New Year, and Mr Hunt said earlier this week that the announcement would be made shortly before or just after Christmas.

A finance ministry spokesman said: “The energy bill relief scheme is protecting businesses this winter from skyrocketing energy prices caused by Putin’s devastating invasion of Ukraine. We are currently evaluating how we can support businesses from April 2023, with taxpayer money going to those most affected.”