Business energy bills explained

The parts of a business energy bill

Suppliers design their own bills, so the order and the wording differ. The building blocks do not. This is what you will usually find, and where each one is explained in more depth:

Your bill will also show your account number, the billing period, your tariff name and often your contract end date. Keep that date in view, because what happens when a contract ends depends on the terms you agreed. Our business energy tariffs guide explains rollover and out-of-contract arrangements.

Supply numbers: MPAN and MPRN

The supply number tells the industry exactly which supply point the bill is for. It is the first thing to check, especially if you have several sites or meters.

• Electricity bills show an MPAN (Meter Point Administration Number), usually in a box marked with an "S". The bottom line of the box is the 13-digit core that identifies the supply. The top line describes the meter set-up, including the profile class that tells you whether the meter is half-hourly.
• Gas bills show an MPRN (Meter Point Reference Number), a shorter number that identifies the gas supply point.

If the number on the bill does not match the meter at your premises, raise it with the supplier straight away. Mix-ups can happen when businesses move, share a building or have several meters on one site. Our business electricity meters guide covers the meter types behind these numbers.

Meter readings: actual or estimated

Each bill shows the readings it is based on and marks them as actual or estimated. An actual reading comes from the meter, read by you, by a meter reader, or remotely by a smart, AMR or half-hourly meter. An estimated reading is the supplier's forecast, based on your past use.

Estimated bills are not wrong in themselves, but they can drift a long way from reality, particularly when your use changes with the seasons or the business grows. When a real reading arrives, the supplier recalculates and the next bill corrects the difference, which can be a large catch-up charge or a credit.

To keep bills accurate:

1. Check whether each bill is marked actual or estimated.
2. Send readings when the supplier asks, and take a dated photo of the meter.
3. Compare consumption with the same period last year. A big jump is worth a query.
4. Ask about a smart meter for your business, which sends readings automatically.

Gas bills add a conversion step: the meter measures volume, and the bill converts it to kWh using a calorific value and a correction factor. Both appear on the bill.

Unit rates and standing charges

These two lines usually make up most of a smaller business's bill.

The unit rate is the price per kWh. Your consumption for the period is multiplied by it. Some tariffs have more than one unit rate for different times of day, such as Economy 7 for business.

The standing charge is a fixed amount per day, paid for every day in the billing period whether you use energy or not. Ofgem describes it as a fee you pay each day, even if you do not use any energy on that day. It helps cover the cost of keeping your premises connected and supplied.

How the two are balanced varies between tariffs, and broker commission can be added to either. Our guide to business energy standing charges explains why standing charges differ between sites, meters and regions.

Extra lines on half-hourly electricity bills

Larger electricity users with half-hourly meters usually see a more detailed bill. As well as unit rates and standing charges, it can show:

• Capacity charges: a daily charge for the supply capacity, in kVA, agreed with your distribution network operator, whether you use it or not. See electricity capacity charges.
• Excess capacity charges: added if your demand goes above the agreed capacity.
• Reactive power charges: on some sites, for poor power factor.
• Time-of-day network rates: distribution charges that vary by time band.
• Meter operator and data charges: for the services that run and read the meter, if these are billed through the supplier.

On a pass-through energy contract, network and policy costs can also appear as separate lines, charged at cost as they change. On a fully fixed contract they are built into the rates. Either way, they are explained in our guide to non-commodity costs.

Taxes: Climate Change Levy and VAT

Two taxes appear on most business energy bills.

Climate Change Levy (CCL) is an environmental tax that the supplier charges on electricity and gas used by industrial, commercial, agricultural and public-service businesses, per kWh. Rates are set by the government from 1 April each year. Some use is exempt or charged at a reduced rate, which our Climate Change Levy guide explains.

VAT is charged on the total of the energy charges, and HMRC's guidance says the value for VAT includes CCL where it applies. Business energy is charged at the standard rate unless some or all of it is for qualifying use, such as small (de minimis) supplies, domestic use or a charity's non-business use. If that might apply to you, read reduced rate VAT on business energy. From 1 October 2026 to 30 June 2027, qualifying-use electricity in Great Britain is zero-rated.

Broker commission and your principal terms

If your contract was arranged by a broker or other intermediary, its fee is normally paid by the supplier and recovered through your rates. Ofgem has required broker fees to be shown in the principal terms of all non-domestic contracts signed from 1 October 2024, and you can ask your supplier for them.

We act as an agent for Fidelity Energy, an independent business energy consultancy and broker. Fidelity Energy's terms say its commission is set by Fidelity Energy, paid by the supplier and added as an uplift on the unit rate (per kWh) and/or the daily standing charge, with the estimated amount set out in your contract documents. Forever Communications is paid by Fidelity Energy from that commission. You will not usually see it as a separate line on the bill, which is why the principal terms matter. The full arrangement is on how we work with Fidelity Energy.

Checking a bill and when to query it

Run through these checks each time a bill arrives, or at least each quarter:

1. Right supply point: the MPAN or MPRN matches the meter at your premises.
2. Right readings: actual where possible, and in line with your own meter photos.
3. Right rates: the unit rates and standing charge match your contract, including any day and night split.
4. Right period: no gaps or overlaps with the previous bill.
5. Right taxes: CCL and VAT applied at the rates and on the use your declarations support.
6. Right extras: on half-hourly sites, the agreed capacity matches your connection agreement.

If something looks wrong, contact your supplier first and keep a record. If the supplier does not resolve a complaint, you may be able to take it to the Energy Ombudsman; see the Energy Ombudsman website for what it covers. Bill validation is one of the services Fidelity Energy offers.

Want help making sense of your business energy bills, or a quote based on them? Contact us with a recent bill for each site. Comparing offers or ready to change supplier? Our sister site covers business energy comparison and switching.