How much is the average business energy bill?

If you want to know whether your energy bill is normal, a single “average bill” figure won’t help much. A cafe, a dental surgery and a cold store can all be small businesses and still use wildly different amounts of energy. What does help is knowing what businesses of your size pay per unit, and how much energy a typical business meter uses. This guide gives you both, from official government data, plus worked examples you can match to your own usage.

Is there an official average business energy bill?

No. The government does not publish an average business energy bill. It publishes the average price businesses pay per kWh, by size of user, and the typical amount of energy used per business meter. Multiply one by the other and you get a realistic estimate.

Be wary of any single “average bill” figure you see quoted. Unless it states the usage it assumes and where the price came from, you can’t check it against your own bill.

How much do businesses pay per kWh?

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) publishes average prices paid by non-domestic users every quarter, split by how much energy they use a year. These are fully delivered prices: they include standing charges, network costs and policy costs spread across the units used, plus the Climate Change Levy, but not VAT.

These are the provisional figures for January to March 2026 (Q1 2026), published on 30 June 2026:

Size band	Annual use	Electricity (p/kWh)	Gas annual use	Gas (p/kWh)
Very small	Up to 20,000 kWh	35.02	Under 278,000 kWh	7.48
Small	20,000 to 499,999 kWh	28.76	278,000 to 2,777,999 kWh	4.77
Small to medium	500,000 to 1,999,999 kWh	28.08	n/a	n/a
Medium	2 to 19.9 GWh	25.00	2.78 to 27.8 GWh	4.55
All users (average)		24.14		5.17

The next DESNZ release is due on 29 September 2026. For the latest figures and the full history, see our business energy prices page, which updates itself when new data is published.

Two things stand out. First, the smallest users pay the most per unit. A very small electricity user paid 35.02p/kWh on average, compared with 24.14p across all users. Second, prices for the smallest electricity users have roughly doubled in five years: they paid 17.41p/kWh in Q1 2021.

How much energy does a typical business use?

DESNZ also publishes how much electricity and gas is used through each non-domestic meter, by region and local authority. The latest figures cover 2024 and were published in December 2025.

In 2024 there were about 2.47 million non-domestic electricity meters in Great Britain. The median meter used 6,934 kWh of electricity a year and the mean was 61,524 kWh.

The gap between those two numbers matters. The mean is pulled up by a relatively small number of very large users. The median, the point where half of meters use less and half use more, is a better guide to a typical small business.

Area (2024)	Mean electricity per non-domestic meter	Median
Great Britain	61,524 kWh	6,934 kWh
England	60,691 kWh	6,895 kWh
Scotland	59,214 kWh	7,916 kWh
Wales	67,571 kWh	6,500 kWh
North East England	76,359 kWh	7,402 kWh
London	58,165 kWh	5,436 kWh
South West England	45,551 kWh	6,049 kWh

What about gas?

Gas figures are harder to use for small businesses. DESNZ classes any gas meter using less than 73,200 kWh a year as domestic, so most small business gas meters are not counted as non-domestic at all.

Among the roughly 233,000 gas meters that were classed as non-domestic in the 2024 gas year (mid-May 2024 to mid-May 2025), the median used 148,289 kWh and the mean 674,870 kWh. These figures are weather-corrected.

Limits of the usage data

• The figures are per meter, not per business. A business with two premises, or separate meters for different parts of a building, will show up more than once.
• Electricity meters on domestic-style profiles are counted as non-domestic only if they use more than 100,000 kWh a year, or more than 50,000 kWh with a non-domestic address. Some small business meters are therefore counted as domestic.

Worked examples: what would a business pay?

The table below multiplies example usage levels by the DESNZ Q1 2026 price for the matching size band. These are examples, not quotes. Your own price depends on your contract, region, meter and when you agreed your rates.

Example	Annual use	DESNZ band and price	Estimated annual cost before VAT
Electricity, median meter	6,934 kWh	Very small, 35.02p	£2,428
Electricity, example small user	15,000 kWh	Very small, 35.02p	£5,253
Electricity, mean meter	61,524 kWh	Small, 28.76p	£17,694
Gas, example small user	100,000 kWh	Very small, 7.48p	£7,480
Gas, median non-domestic meter	148,289 kWh	Very small, 7.48p	£11,092

How the first row works: 6,934 kWh x 35.02p = £2,428.29 a year, or about £202 a month.

Adding VAT

DESNZ prices exclude VAT, so you need to add it:

• 20% is the standard rate for business energy.
• 5% applies to small “de minimis” supplies: electricity averaging no more than 33 kWh a day (or 1,000 kWh a month), or gas averaging no more than 145 kWh a day (or 4,397 kWh a month).
• 0%: qualifying electricity supplies in Great Britain are temporarily zero-rated from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Gas is unchanged and Northern Ireland stays at 5%.

The median electricity meter above averages about 19 kWh a day, which is under the de minimis limit. On the 5% rate its example bill would be about £2,550 a year; at 20% it would be about £2,914. The 15,000 kWh example averages about 41 kWh a day, so the standard rate would apply. Our VAT on business energy guide explains the rules in full.

What about the Climate Change Levy?

The Q1 2026 prices include the Climate Change Levy (CCL) at the rate in force at the time, 0.775p/kWh. The main rate rose to 0.801p/kWh for both electricity and gas on 1 April 2026. See our Climate Change Levy guide for who pays it.

Why might your bill be different from the average?

Two businesses using the same amount of energy can pay very different amounts. The main reasons:

• When you agreed your rates. Business energy is not covered by the Ofgem price cap. Your price reflects the wholesale market when your contract was priced, so a deal agreed after a price spike can cost more than one agreed before it. Our wholesale prices page shows recent movements.
• Whether you’re in contract. Ofgem and consumer groups warn that deemed and out-of-contract rates are usually among a supplier’s most expensive. If you’ve moved premises or let a contract lapse, check this first. See out-of-contract rates.
• Where you are. Network costs differ by region, which Ofgem says is one reason standing charges vary by area.
• Your standing charge and meter type. Low users feel standing charges more, because they are a bigger share of a small bill. Larger sites on half-hourly meters can also pay capacity charges. See business energy standing charges.
• What’s included in the price. Ofgem lists the costs that make up business unit rates and standing charges: wholesale energy, network charges, government schemes, supplier costs, taxes, and third-party costs such as sales commission and brokerage. Ofgem notes that broker fees are sometimes charged upfront and sometimes added to your bill. We are paid commission by suppliers, which is included in the prices we quote and disclosed before you agree a contract. See how we make money.

How do you work out your own business energy bill?

You don’t need an average if you have your own bill. Here is the calculation for each meter:

1. Find your annual usage in kWh. Your bill may show an “estimated annual consumption”. If not, add up a year of bills.
2. Find your unit rate and standing charge. Both are on your bill and in your contract.
3. Calculate: (annual kWh x unit rate) + (365 x daily standing charge).
4. Add the Climate Change Levy (0.801p x annual kWh) if it isn’t already in your unit rate and you aren’t exempt.
5. Add VAT at the rate that applies to you.

Then divide your total, before VAT, by your annual kWh. That gives your own “all-in” price per kWh, which you can compare with the DESNZ figure for your size band. If yours is well above it, it’s worth finding out why.

Our guides to reading a business energy bill and unit rates versus standing charges walk through each step.

How can a small business keep its energy costs down?

You can’t control wholesale prices, but you can control several things that affect your bill:

• Know your contract end date and act in your renewal window, so you don’t drift onto out-of-contract rates. See business energy contract renewal.
• Check your VAT rate. If you’re a small user under the de minimis limits, you shouldn’t be paying 20%.
• Send regular meter readings, or ask about a smart meter, so you’re billed on actual usage rather than estimates.
• Match the tariff to your usage. A low user may be better off with a lower standing charge, even if the unit rate is a little higher.
• Use less. Every kWh you save cuts the unit-rate part of your bill directly.

If you’re a microbusiness, you have extra protections. Our microbusiness energy guide explains what they are.

Frequently asked questions