What UK businesses pay for electricity and gas per kWh

Every quarter, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero surveys energy suppliers and publishes what businesses across the UK pay for their energy. Because the figures cover the whole bill except VAT, you can compare them with what you pay. Find the band that matches your yearly use below.

How to work out your own price per kWh

To compare like with like, work out your own price from the whole bill before VAT:

1. Take a year of bills if you can. One bill will do, but a year gives a fairer figure, because the standing charge makes up more of the bill in months when you use less.
2. Add up the totals before VAT. That means everything on the bill: unit charges, standing charges, the Climate Change Levy and any other charges.
3. Divide by the kWh the bills cover, then multiply by 100 to get a figure in pence.
4. Compare the result with your band in the table above.

Or use our energy cost calculator to work it out.

Why your price may be different

These are averages, so plenty of businesses pay more and plenty pay less. Here are the main reasons why:

• Your size. When you use less, fixed costs such as standing charges are spread over fewer kWh, so smaller businesses pay more for each one.
• When you agreed your price. A fixed contract locks in the prices from when you signed, so two businesses of the same size can pay very different prices.
• Deemed or out-of-contract rates. These are what you pay when no contract is in place, and they're usually higher than the prices you'd get on a contract.
• Where you are and your meter. Network charges vary from region to region, and larger sites with half-hourly meters are charged in a different way.
• Your contract type. Some contracts pass network and other costs straight on to you whenever they change.

If your price comes out well above the average for your band, it's worth finding out why.

How prices have moved since 2019

Business energy prices started rising sharply in late 2021 and peaked in 2023. They've eased since then, though they've edged up again over the last few quarters, and they're still well above where they were in 2019.

What the figures include

• The whole bill except VAT. The government describes them as fully delivered prices, so they include standing charges, network charges and the supplier's charges, spread across every kWh.
• The Climate Change Levy, unless you choose to show the figures without it.
• All kinds of businesses across the UK, taken from a survey of energy suppliers.
• An average for each size band, worked out by dividing the total paid by the total kWh bought.

The government notes that the figures for very small electricity users have been revised since late 2024, and they may be revised again.