Commercial Energy Bills

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Are you struggling to understand your commercial energy bill? If so, read on to learn more about how to read your business gas and electricity bills.

Commercial Energy Bills

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If you’re running a business, you may not dedicate a huge amount of time to perusing your energy bills, but it’s something that you should definitely set aside a little time for. You could be paying way too much for your gas and electricity without realising it. If you’re paying your bill blindly each month without looking more closely at the figures, your business could be being short-changed. Saving money couldn’t be more important, and finding the cheapest business energy supplier is one of the easiest and best ways to slash your business costs.

So, how do you get started with reading your energy bills? If you’ve never really looked at one properly before, you may be confused by the different terms used. So, here we take a look at what you need to know to understand the contents of your next bill.

Reading Your Business Energy Bills - A Guide

The bills provided by different energy suppliers might have slightly different structures, but they will still all contain the same kind of information in one form or another. Here are the different elements you’ll see outlined on your bill.

  • The VAT number, bill number and bill date - these are fairly self-explanatory. They refer to your business VAT number, the number of your bill and the date it has been issued.

  • The account number - this is a unique number which your supplier will use to identify your business.

  • The contract information - this is an outline of your business’ current contract with the supplier.

  • The billing period - this is the period of usage that your business is being charged for.

  • The charges type - this refers to whether the charges have been based on an estimated or an accurate reading.

  • The outstanding charges - if any amount is owed from a previous bill, this figure will be shown here.

  • Billing period charges - these are the costs that have been incurred in the current billing period.

  • VAT charges - this is the amount of VAT you’ll be paying on this bill.

  • Amount due - this is the total amount you’ll be required to pay. It includes costs for this period along with VAT and any outstanding amount.

  • MPAN/MPRN Number - these are unique reference numbers used by your supplier to identify your meters and property.

  • Charges Breakdown - this is exactly what your business is being charged for in the bill.

What Does a Typical Annual Energy Bill Look Like?

Once you can read your bill, the obvious next question is whether the total at the bottom is reasonable. The table below shows the average annual gas and electricity bills paid by UK businesses of different sizes, averaged across the year, so you can benchmark your own spend against businesses like yours. If your bills are noticeably higher than the figures for your size of business, that’s usually a sign your rates deserve a closer look.

Business size

Electricity bill (per year)

Gas bill (per year)

Micro Business

£2,973

based on annual usage of 10,000 kWh

£1,019

based on annual usage of 10,000 kWh

Small Business

£5,832

based on annual usage of 20,000 kWh

£2,005

based on annual usage of 22,500 kWh

Medium Business

£11,297

based on annual usage of 40,000 kWh

£4,166

based on annual usage of 47,500 kWh

Large Business

£15,483

based on annual usage of 55,000 kWh

£5,184

based on annual usage of 65,000 kWh

Prices are correct as of September 2026 (based on average quotes received from our supplier panel between 1st January 2026 and 8th September 2026).

Finding The Cheapest Business Energy Supplier

Now that you can read your bill effectively, you may have realised that you’re paying too much for your gas and electricity. If so, it’s time to look around for a cheap business energy supplier that can reduce your costs and save your business money. We’re here to help you get a wide variety of business gas and electricity quotes from the best business energy suppliers so that you can find the best options to suit your business’ needs.

With our effective service, it’s never been easier to find cheap business energy, so give us a try. It’s easier and quicker than you thought to get a cheap business gas and electricity quote from the most reliable business energy suppliers on the market today. So, contact us now, get the best prices and switch business energy supplier today to save your company money.

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