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Average business energy bills
Blindly paying your business energy bill each month, without taking a good look at what’s inside, could be leaving your business short-changed.
Although you might not have the time to go through your commercial gas and electrcity costs in great detail, it pays to know how much your business is spending on gas and electricity each month - once you have a handle on the cost of your business energy bills, you should implement energy efficiency measures and switch business energy supplier to save money.
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"Don't switch" is good advice for households. But business energy is different and there's no price cap to protect you*. "Compare now" is good advice for businesses!
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*with no price cap in place for businesses, some out of contract rates are up between 15% and 120%
It also helps to know what other businesses are paying for gas and electricity, so you can see what the average business energy bills are in your sector and make a more informed choice when it comes to switching to a better deal.
What are the average rates for business energy prices?
Unlike domestic energy users, who choose from a range of off-the-shelf gas and electrcity tariffs, business eenrgy users are offered bespoke energy quotes to reflect the unique needs of their business. This means that energy prices can vary from business to business, even between those in the same sector and in the same part of the country.
Even so, when checking the various costs and charges included on your business energy bills, the unit cost and the standing charge are the two you need to keep an eye on, as they make the biggest difference to the amount you pay for business gas and electricity.
- The unit cost is what your business is charged for each kWh of energy that it uses.
- The standing charge is a daily amount that covers the cost of transporting energy to your premises and maintaining the national grid.
As a general rule of thumb, the cheapest energy deals are the ones with the best commercial electricity rates and gas rates, but the unit rates and standing charges you're offered by suppliers will depend upon a number of factors, including the location of your business, its size, the number of employees, its energy usage pattern and its energy efficiency.
This makes it hard to estimate how much your business can expect to pay without first assessing its individual situation. But to get a rough idea of the best gas rates and the best electricity rates for small business, it's worth taking a look at the current average prices.
Below are the average commercial electricity cost per kwh and the average commercial gas rates per kWh, along with average usage figures. These figures will also help you work out what an average electricity bill for a small business is, so you can compare it against your own.
Average business gas use
| Business size | Low end usage (kWh) | High end usage (kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| Micro business | 5,000 | 15,000 |
| Small business | 15,000 | 30,000 |
| Medium business | 30,000 | 65,000 |
Average business gas prices per kWh
| Business Size | Annual usage | Price per kWh | Standing charge | Avg. annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro business | 5,000 - 15,000 | 4.0p | 32.0p | £516 |
| Small business | 15,000 - 30,000 | 3.8p | 30.0p | £965 |
| Medium business | 30,000 - 65,000 | 3.5p | 28.0p | £1,502 |
Average business electricity use
| Business size | Low end usage (kWh) | High end usage (kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| Micro business | 5,000 | 15,000 |
| Small business | 15,000 | 30,000 |
| Medium business | 30,000 | 50,000 |
Average business electricity prices per kWh
| Business Size | Average annual usage (kWh) | Average price (per kWh) | Standing charge (daily) | Average annual price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro business | 5,000 - 15,000 kWh | 13.2p - 14.5p | 23p - 27p | £650 - £1,800 |
| Small business | 15,000 - 30,000 kWh | 12.4p - 14.1p | 23p - 27p | £1,900 - £2,900 |
| Medium-sized business | 30,000 - 50,000 kWh | 12.2p - 13.3p | 23p - 27p | £3,300 - £5000 |
The figures above are based on industry averages and are only intended as a guide. There are many factors that impact the amount you pay for your business energy, including consumption habits and the location of your business premises.
If you work from a serviced offince and need to know the average utility cost per square foot for a commercial property in the UK, you should work off the energy usage figures above, rather than the size of the property.
Althogh,serviced offices are usually defined by the number of people they can accommodate - a one person office is usually about 100 square feet in size, and a two person office around 120-150 square feet - your utility bills should calculated by usage, based on the average consumption figures of the equipmnent you're using.
To find out how much your appliances cost to run, check out our electricity cost calculator.
How to read your business energy bill
Bills from different suppliers may vary in structure, but they’ll contain the same information in one order or another. If you want to work out your average business utility costs per month, it helps if you know how to read your bill and which figures you need to consider.
- Bill date, bill number and VAT number: the date the bill was issued, the number of the bill and your business’s VAT number
- Account number: a unique number that your supplier uses to identify you
- Contract details: an outline of the contract your business is currently on
- Billing period: the period of energy usage being charged for
- Type of charges: whether your charges are based on accurate or estimated readings
- Outstanding charges: if you owe anything from previous bills, you’ll see the figure here
- Charges for the billing period: the costs you’ve incurred during the present billing period
- VAT charges: the VAT that you’re due to pay on this bill
- Total amount due: the full amount you need to pay, including this month’s costs, any outstanding amounts, and VAT
- MPAN/MPRN number: unique reference numbers your supplier uses to identify your property and meters
- Breakdown of charges: exactly what you’re being charged for in this bill
How to get the best business energy prices
To find out typical commercial electricity rates and gas prices, you’ll need to compare prices from different supplier. Then to make sure you get the best possible deal for your business, you might need to call a range of different suppliers and negotiate a tailor-made energy quote from each. As part of this process, you’ll need to compare the unit costs and standing charges offered by each to find the most competitive deal.
This can be very time consuming - and time isn't something most business owners have an abundance of.
That's why it makes sense to let the energy experts at UKPower do all the hard work and find the best gas prices and best electricity rates for small business on your behalf.
Our energy experts know exactly what and average electric bill should cost and the average kWh usage for small business properties and can instantly compare your data against those figures to find the best energy deal for your business.
And while saving money will be your most pressing concern, price isn’t everything. To avoid running into problems with your supply, it’s also important to get a supplier that offers great customer service.
We work with a panel of trusted suppliers to make sure you not only get the cheapest rates, but also a top quality service and supply.
How to lower your business energy bills
It’s no surprise that the more energy your business uses, the bigger your bill will be. To lower your company’s energy bills, your first step should be to reduce your consumption. The gov.uk energy efficiency guide has a wealth of information on how to do this, with tips on energy efficient equipment, making small modifications to your premises and motivating staff to get involved.
Reducing your energy consumption will help you save money, but switching to a better energy deal could save you a whole lot more. To find out how much you could save, call UK Power on 0800 688 8773 today and speak to our energy experts about running an energy price comparison.