The plans aim to take an average of £50,000 off the energy bills of UK manufacturing companies. It is especially aimed at heavy industries such as steel and construction, which have the highest energy costs. To do this the government will invest in more efficient forms of energy such as nuclear, shale gas and renewable energies.
The chancellor said the US manufacturing industry was set to create 5 million jobs in the coming years, partly driven by energy costs that are around half of those in this country.
Exporters boost
In a separate announcement, the chancellor said the Government would double lending to exporters to £3 billion, and cut interest rates on that lending by one third.
He said that it was crucial to give British companies an even footing when competing on the international market.
Today, the Office of Budget Resposibility revised its predicted GDP growth for the UK economy to 2.7% for 2014.
