Most businesses are overpaying for their electricity and gas due to the lack of knowledge regarding electricity rates. If you don’t know the market rates and how much you should be paying, you will probably pay more than you need to.
To help you know how much energy your business consumes and what your business bills should look like, we did the homework for you and have gathered the average cost of electricity and gas.
How much does electricity cost for a business on average?
The key factors affecting energy costs are the standing charges and the unit rate of your country. A standing charge differs from country to country and is a fixed daily charge that remains constant. A standing charge helps pay the costs of delivering electricity to your building. The unit rate helps determine the cost of each unit of energy consumed and is measured in kWh (cost per kilowatt-hour).
The average cost of electricity you can expect as a business is 14.93 pence per kWh. At the same time, the average cost of gas is comparatively lower at 3.484 pence per kWh. Standing charges for business buildings lie between 22 pence per day to 28 pence per day.
Factors affecting the cost of business electricity
Many factors affect the cost of electricity for business buildings, such as the size and location of your business, the number of employees, and the type of products and services your business offers.
What is the average cost of electricity for a micro business?
A Micro Business consists of 1 to 10 employees. In the majority of the cases, the overheads of micro-businesses are low. Micro businesses are small businesses that consume less energy but have to pay higher unit rates. The average electricity unit rate for a micro business is 17.75 pence per kWh, and that for gas is 4.935 pence per kWh. According to these values, an electricity and gas usage of about 14000 kWh would generate an average yearly bill of about £1,835.
What is the average cost of electricity for a small business?
The majority of the businesses in the UK are small businesses. A small business has around 10 to 50 employees. The average unit rate for a small business is 15.83 pence per kWh for electricity, and gas is 3.303 pence per kWh. This means that if your small business consumes about 36000 kWh, you will have to pay around £3,607 per year.
What is the average cost of electricity for a medium-sized business?
Medium-sized businesses refer to those that have 51 to 250 employees. The energy consumed by medium-sized businesses varies. You need to remember this when comparing energy costs. An average medium-sized business uses around 39,000 kWh of electricity and 36000 kWh of gas every year. Considering the average unit rate of 14 pence per kWh for electricity and 2.229 pence per kWh for gas, the average energy bill you will have to pay annually is £6,462.
In a nutshell
The average cost of energy bills depends on many factors such as unit rate, standing charges, location, no of employees, type of product or service your company provides, and the size of your business. The values mentioned above will help you compare rates and get the best energy supplier ideal for your business.