Although most businesses use between 15,000 and 25,000 kWh of energy a year, the average usage and cost of energy is different depending on the size of the business and how it uses energy.
Business energy experts, Bionic have researched into what different sizes of businesses can expect when it comes to the cost of their energy tariffs as well as the average energy consumption per year.
How much energy does an average business use?
‘All businesses have different energy demands – even if two businesses seem identical on the face of things, they’ll operate from different premises, which will have different heating, perhaps one business has taken advantage of electric heater hire, lighting and energy efficiency systems in place, all of which can affect the amount of energy they use.’
Even just having different opening times and employees with different energy usage habits can all have an impact on energy usage.
Energy usage is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh) and to give you an idea of how much energy a business like yours should be using, the number crunchers at Bionic have pulled together the following data on average kwh usage for small business and medium businesses.
What is the average gas usage for businesses?
Knowing how much energy other businesses your size use is a good way to understand if your business is using too much. As with business electricity, your business gas usage will vary depending upon the size of your business and how you power it.
The table below shows the average business gas usage, ordered by business size.
| Business size | Average gas usage (kWh per year) |
| Micro business | 10,000 |
| Small business | 25,000 |
| Medium business | 45,000 |
What is the average electricity consumption for UK business?
To give you an idea of how much electricity your business should be using, here are the average business electric consumption figures by business size and demand.
| Business Size | Low end usage (kWh) | High end usage (kWh) |
| Micro Business | 5,000 | 15,000 |
| Small business | 15,000 | 25,000 |
| Medium business | 30,000 | 50,000 |
If your business uses more than 100,000 kWh of electricity a year, suppliers will class you as a large business and handle your supply differently. To find out more, check out our guide to large business energy and give our tech-enabled energy experts a call on 0800 077 3701.
What is an average business energy bill?
Your business energy bills will vary depending upon how much gas and electricity you use at your business premises.
The cost of your bills will also be affected by the type of tariff you’re on, and although your business energy bill is made up of a number of costs, including VAT and government levies, there are two figures you need to look out for:
Unit cost – Measured in kilowatt hours (kWh), this is the amount you pay for each unit of gas or electricity you use.
Standing charge – This is a flat daily rate to cover the cost of getting the energy to your property and is charged regardless of whether or not you use any gas or electricity.
If you’re looking to cut the cost of your business energy bills, you’ll want a tariff that offers a lower unit rate and lower standing charge than the one you’re currently on, but you might be able to lower your bills by cutting the cost of just one of these charges.
The type of deal you’re on will also affect the cost of your business energy bills, and while there are a range of commercial tariffs on offer, simply choosing between a fixed rate and variable rate tariff can make a significant difference.
If you’re on a variable rate energy deal, the unit cost will fluctuate depending upon the current market cost of energy – if prices go up, so do your energy bills, even if you consistently use the same amount of gas and electricity each month.
If you sign up to a fixed rate deal, this means the unit rate is fixed and you’ll pay a flat rate for each unit of energy you use. Fixed rate deals offer an effective way to protect against price hikes if energy rates increase, and can also make budgeting a bit easier, but your bills will still fluctuate according to your usage.
What is an average business gas bill?
To give you an idea of how much you should be paying on business gas, here are the average business gas bills by business size.
| Business size | Average business gas bill (per year) |
| Micro business | £530 |
| Small business | £1,150 |
| Medium business | £1,860 |
What are the average business gas prices per kwh?
When looking to get a grip of your energy bills, it can also help to know the average business gas prices per kwh. Here are more findings from Bionic’s number-crunching energy experts:
| Business size | Average price (per kWh) | Standing charge (daily) |
| Micro business | 3.9p – 4.5p | 25.0p – 37.0p |
| Small business | 3.8p – 4.5p | 25.0p – 45.0p |
| Medium business | 3.4p – 4.2p | 25.0p – 61.0p |
What is an average business electric bill?
To give you an idea of how much your business electricity bill should be, here are the average electricity bills by business size.
| Business size | Average business electricity bill (per year) |
| Micro business | £1,834 |
| Small business | £3,468 |
| Medium business | £6,705 |
What are the average business electricity prices per kwh?
When looking to get a grip of your energy bills, it can also help to know the average business electricity prices per kwh. Here are more findings from Bionic’s number-crunching energy experts:
| Business size | Average price (per kWh) | Standing charge (daily) |
| Micro business | 16.6p – 18.0p | 25.0p – 32.5p |
| Small business | 16.2p – 17.7p | 25.0p – 34.5p |
| Medium business | 16.0p – 17.0p | 25.0p – 33.8p |
What are the average business electricity rates by business type?
If you’ve never switched business electricity, you’ll not be on your supplier’s most competitive rates and will definitely be overpaying for energy. If you’re in this position, it can help to compare the rates you’re currently paying with the average rates paid by other businesses in your sector.
If, for instance, you run a restaurant, asking how much energy does an average restaurant use every year and comparing the costs with the rates you pay will instantly highlight how much you could save by switching suppliers.
| Business type | Unit rate (per kWh) | Standing charge (daily) | Cost per year |
| Coffee Shop | 13.42p | 26.70p | £2,109 |
| Hair Salon | 13.88p | 27.23p | £2,182 |
| Small Farm | 14.19p | 24.21p | £2,218 |
| Dental Surgery | 13.84p | 27.61p | £2,176 |
| Restaurant | 14.87p | 25.46p | £3,067 |
| Newsagent | 14.51p | 24.28p | £1,830 |
How to reduce your business energy bills
Cutting the amount of gas and electricity you use is obviously the most effective way to cut your business energy bills, but arguably the quickest and simplest way best to lower your bills is to switch to a cheaper tariff.
If you don’t arrange a new deal before your current one expires, your supplier will place you on its more expensive rates. The only way to make sure that you never pay more than you need to for energy is to stay on top of your renewal dates and switch at the right time. If this sounds like too much hassle, don’t worry – we can do it all for you and take care of renewals so you never overpay for energy again.
Once you have a new deal in place, you can then save even more money by cutting your energy usage and making your business more energy efficient.
How to cut your business energy usage
Managing and improving the energy efficiency of your business will help to reduce the amount of energy consumed. There are any number of ways to do this, such as:
Carrying out an energy audit
- Using energy efficient lighting
- Using energy efficient computers
- Encouraging your staff to go green
- Installing energy generation technology
Although the effectiveness of any energy efficiency measures depend on the type of business you run and the steps you take, even making a few small changes can help to make a big difference.