Your business' energy prices explained

We think business energy should be simple and transparent.

That way, all UK businesses can feel equipped to make the right decisions.

But, energy prices can be a bit confusing. Sometimes, businesses don’t know exactly what they’re paying for when they pay their energy bills.

We’re here to demystify things for you. Below, you can see what makes up the prices you pay for your electricity and gas.


What makes up your Octopus Energy unit rate?

Your unit rate is the amount you pay for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy that you use.

This chart shows the average unit rate costs for a business that doesn't have a half-hourly meter:

What's a half-hourly meter?

What's a half-hourly meter?

Half-hourly meters automatically send your meter readings to your supplier every half-hour. They're most common at larger business sites where consumption is high. They help to keep your bills accurate.

These aren't the same as smart meters. It's possible to configure smart meters to send readings every half-hour, but it's not essential.

You can find out more about different business meters in our blog.

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Octopus Energy for Business non-half-hourly unit rate breakdown.png

This chart shows the average unit rate costs for a business with a half-hourly meter:

Octopus Energy for Business half-hourly unit rate breakdown.png

What makes up your Octopus Energy standing charge?

Your standing charge is a fixed daily charge. You pay the same amount each day, regardless of how much energy you use.

This chart shows the average standing charge costs for non-half-hourly businesses:

Octopus Energy for Business non-half-hourly standing charge breakdown

This chart shows the average standing charge costs for half-hourly businesses:

Octopus Energy for Business half-hourly standing charge breakdown

What do these different costs mean?


Wholesale costs

We buy energy for our customers from the wholesale market. The amount we pay for it is called the 'wholesale cost'. This becomes part of the unit rate you pay.

The wholesale cost of energy regularly changes. So, we regularly update our unit rate accordingly.


Energy network costs

All businesses and homes pay towards upkeep of Britain’s energy network. This makes sure that things like pylons, cables and meters can all keep running smoothly.


Energy initiatives

Consumers pay towards improving UK energy for everyone. This money goes to things like:


Taxes on energy

All businesses pay either 5% or 20% VAT on their energy.

Some also pay the Climate Change Levy (CCL). The CCL is an environmental tax which helps to fund the move to more renewable energy in the UK grid.


Operating costs

These go towards helping us to develop great tariffs, deliver excellent customer service and keep things running smoothly for our customers.


Third party fees

Some suppliers pay third parties - like brokers and price comparison websites - to help them find customers. They roll the cost of this into their unit rate, making it higher for their customers.

At Octopus Energy for Business, we don't work with third parties. That's why the portion of your costs that this makes up is 0%.



What’s the difference between my unit rate and standing charge?

Your unit rate is what you pay for each unit of energy you use. Standing charge is a fixed daily charge that you pay, no matter how much you use. Both of these appear on your energy bill:

Business electricity unit rate v standing charge

You can find more about what standing charges consist of and how we calculate them.


Unlike other suppliers, we don’t make a profit on standing charge

Instead, we just pass the base cost onto our customers.

We've even released a tariff with 0p standing charge. We call it the No Standing Charge Tariff.

It lets businesses pay according only to the amount of energy they use. Which means even more transparency and control over your bills.



What’s my energy price at the moment?

If you’re an Octopus customer, just head to your online dashboard. Here you’ll see your current unit rate and standing charge amounts.

If you’re not an Octopus customer yet, head to our join page. This will show you what you’ll pay if you decide to join us.

We’re always finding ways to lower our prices

At Octopus Energy for Business, we’re committed to doing business energy better. That means delivering the highest value we can to our customers.

You can read all about how we’re making business energy fairer for our customers.

Hey I'm Constantine, welcome to Octopus Energy!

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