Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an estimate of the number of houseboat residents who are not protected by the domestic energy price cap as they purchase electricity through residential mooring operators who pay commercial rates; and whether he is taking steps to help those residents with the cost of energy.

Non-domestic customers, including marina operators, can benefit from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). EBRS provides a price reduction ensuring that eligible businesses and non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills. Marina operators that act as intermediaries and are eligible for the EBRS discount are expected to pass this on to their end users in a just and reasonable way. EBRS discounts to eligible customers are provided directly by energy suppliers, therefore the Department cannot provide an estimate of the number of houseboat residents who will be entitled to the EBRS nor the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG).