How do you calculate the prices for Shape Shifters: Agile?

Your Shape Shifters: Agile price is made up of 2 parts: the unit rate and the standing charge. Here’s how we calculate each of them.

Your unit rate

We calculate your unit rate in pence per kilowatt-hour for each individual half-hour period. This is the formula we use to do it:

D + (W x X) = your unit rate

Where:

• D covers the costs of getting your energy from the grid to you - and contributing to government energy schemes. These costs are higher during the 4-7pm peak

• W is the wholesale cost of electricity during the half-hour period

• X accounts for energy that’s lost in the grid whilst on its way to you. The grid is less efficient when it’s busiest, so this cost is higher during the 4-7pm peak

We cap prices at £1 per kWh, so they'll never go above that.

Here are some examples to show how we work it out

Peak example

Let’s imagine we’re calculating the price for 5:00 - 5:30pm. The inputs to the formula might look like this:

• D = 5p

• W = 15p

• X = 1.2

This would give a unit rate of 23p/kWh. Here’s why:

5 + (15*1.2) = 23p

Off-peak example

Let’s imagine we’re calculating the price for 2:00 - 2:30pm. The inputs to the formula might look like this:

• D = 3p

• W = 8p

• X = 1 (we’re off-peak, so this adds nothing to the price)

This would give a unit rate of 11p/kWh. Here’s why:

3 + (8*1) = 11p

Your standing charge

This is a fixed price that you pay every day, regardless of how much energy you use. You can find out what makes up this charge in our blog: Your business’ energy prices explained.