Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)

How much can a business claim?

A limit applied to the total payments that a qualifying business could claim for each claim period. The limit was €10,000 for the September 2022 to February 2023 claim periods. The limit was increased to €15,000 for the March 2023 to July 2023 claim periods.

Where a person carried on more than one trade or profession, the monthly limit applied to each qualifying business separately.

If your business had separate electricity and gas accounts, the limit of the eligible costs applied to both energy accounts.

Businesses with more than one electricity account

The monthly limit could be increased where a qualifying business:

• operated across multiple locations
• and
• had more than one electricity account.

For the September 2022 to February 2023 claim periods, the monthly limit could increase by €10,000 per electricity account. This was subject to an overall monthly limit of €30,000 per qualifying business.

For the March 2023 to July 2023 claim periods, the monthly limit could increase by €15,000 per electricity account. This was subject to an overall monthly limit of €45,000 per qualifying business. 

Each electricity account must have had its own unique Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) identifier, with each MPRN having a separate electricity supply address.

Your business may have had more than one electricity account and may have been eligible for the increased limit. In this case, the limit applied for both electricity and natural gas costs. The increased limit did not apply where multiple electricity accounts were located:

• at the same electricity supply address
• or
• adjacent to each other.

Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF)

The total amount of relief that a single undertaking may claim under Section 2.1 of the TCTF is €2 million. This includes relief claimed under the TBESS. The limit is €250,000 in the case of farmers, and €300,000 in the case of fishery and aquaculture sectors. 

For further information on what is a ‘single undertaking’, please see the next page. 

Enhancements to the TBESS

A number of enhancements were made to the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS).

The enhancements were as follows:

• the extension of the scheme to 31 July 2023
• an increase in the monthly limit on payments for claim periods from 1 March 2023 onwards:
  • the €10,000 monthly limit on payments under the scheme was increased to €15,000 per qualifying business
  • the €30,000 monthly limit was increased to €45,000 per qualifying business in cases where the qualifying business operated across multiple locations.
• a reduction of the energy costs threshold from 50% to 30%, with effect from 1 September 2022
• an increase in the Temporary Business Energy Payment (TBEP) amount from 40% to 50% of a business’ eligible costs from 1 March 2023
• and
• an extension of the time limit for all claims to 30 September 2023.

Revenue automatically reassessed claims using the new 30% energy costs threshold. A business did not need to amend claims previously submitted to take account of the revised threshold. A business received a notification in its Revenue Online Service (ROS) inbox if any additional payment was due.

Next: Single undertaking