On a typical business electricity bill in 2026 the wholesale commodity is only around 38 to 40 per cent of the total. The rest is a stack of network, balancing, policy and tax charges the supplier collects but does not set. They are the same for every supplier, they reset each April, and they are the part of the bill that has grown for a decade.
Verification
- Verified as at:
- Source:
- NESO final 2026/27 TNUoS tariffs; HMRC Climate Change Levy main rates; Low Carbon Contracts Company; Ofgem RIIO-3 Final Determinations, 4 December 2025
- Last reviewed by:
- Omnium
Figures in this sheet were current at the verification date above. Regulated charges reset each April. If you are relying on a figure, check the source or ask us.
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The split on a typical electricity bill
Most people assume the price of electricity is the price of electricity. It is not. On a typical business bill in 2026 the wholesale commodity, the actual power your supplier bought, is only around 38 to 40 per cent of the total. The rest is a stack of network, balancing, policy and tax charges the supplier collects on behalf of the grid, the regulator and the government.
These charges are the same for every supplier, they reset each April, and they are the part of the bill that has grown for a decade. Understanding them changes the conversation from finding a cheaper unit rate to reducing the part of the bill that is actually large and rising.
| Share | What it is |
|---|---|
| Around 38 to 40 per cent | Wholesale commodity. The power itself, and the only part that moves with the market headlines. |
| Around 60 to 65 per cent | Non-commodity. Network, balancing, policy and tax charges, set by others and passed through. They reset every April, whatever the wholesale market is doing. |
Why your bill can rise while wholesale falls
Because the non-commodity stack is the larger share and is rising independently, a business can cut its consumption, hear that wholesale prices have softened, and still receive a bigger bill. The headlines track the smaller half. The half that is quietly growing is the one worth watching, and it is not the one a cheapest unit rate comparison shows you.
What is actually in the non-commodity stack
These charges are bundled into your unit rate and standing charge, or itemised on a half-hourly or pass-through contract. No supplier sets them and no supplier can remove them. Figures are the published position at the verification date and are re-checked each April.
| Charge | What it pays for | Where it sits and why it moves |
|---|---|---|
| TNUoS | The high-voltage transmission network. | Rising sharply. Allowed transmission revenue rose around 61 per cent for 2026/27 to fund grid investment for renewables, and more of it is recovered through fixed standing charges rather than the unit rate. |
| DUoS | The local distribution network to your premises. | Set regionally by your distribution network operator, varying by location and time of day, with infrastructure charges rising to 2027 for network modernisation. |
| BSUoS | Balancing the grid second by second. | Reformed to a fixed daily charge in April 2023, so more predictable than it once was, but still a live cost. |
| Losses | Energy lost as heat moving power across the network. | An uplift applied to metered units. You pay for slightly more than you use because some is lost in transit. |
| Capacity Market | Paying generators to be available for tight periods. | Risen materially, breaching a smeared cost above £10 per MWh, driven by high auction clearing prices. |
| RO, CfD, FiT | Low-carbon and renewable generation support schemes. | The largest policy layer. RO and FiT are legacy but still paid to existing generators; CfD is the current main mechanism. RO and FiT move to CPI indexation from April 2026. |
| Nuclear RAB | Building new nuclear, starting with Sizewell C. | On bills since late 2025. The rate rose to around £4.68 per MWh from April 2026 and is updated quarterly. |
| EII Support Levy | Funding network-charge relief for energy-intensive industries. | Relief for heavy industry rises from 60 to 90 per cent, with the levy uplift landing from April 2027. Most businesses are non-EII and cover the cost of the increased relief. |
| CCL | A government tax on business energy use. | Rose to 0.801p per kWh for electricity from 1 April 2026, with a further rise confirmed for April 2027. Reducible through a Climate Change Agreement for eligible sectors. |
Gas is a different animal
Do not read the electricity split onto a gas bill. Gas is close to the mirror image: the wholesale commodity is the larger share, roughly a third to a half of the bill, and non-commodity costs are far lighter, commonly estimated at around 30 per cent. Gas carries network charges, CCL and the Green Gas Levy, but none of the heavy electricity policy stack. So for gas the wholesale price you hear about genuinely is most of the story. For electricity it is not. We never blend the two.
What you can and cannot do about it
- You cannot switch these charges away. They are identical across suppliers. A cheaper supplier only ever competes on the wholesale portion and its own margin, not on the regulated pass-through.
- You can reduce the units they apply to. Most of the stack is charged per kWh, so cutting consumption through efficiency, waste analysis and on-site generation reduces the pass-through cost as well as the wholesale cost.
- You can right-size the fixed elements. The capacity charge and, increasingly, the TNUoS standing charge are billed on your agreed capacity regardless of use. A capacity review can cut a fixed cost you are paying for and not using.
Related sheets
- Non-commodity charges
Taxes, levies and regulated network charges now make up a large share of a business electricity bill, and comparing unit rates alone misses where the cost sits.
- Network charges and agreed capacity
Why regulated network charges rose sharply in April 2026, and why the capacity you reserve is a lever most businesses have never pulled.
- Reading your energy bill
What every line on a commercial gas and electricity bill means, so you can check it is right and see which parts you can influence.
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