What actually makes up your commercial electricity Bill

Most businesses think their energy bill is just: units used × rate. It isn't.

Here's the breakdown of what actually makes up your typical commercial electricity unit rate:

→ Wholesale cost: ~38% (what the energy actually costs)

→ Network charges: ~22% (poles, wires, the grid)

→ Policy and environmental levies: ~17% (renewables obligations, government schemes)

→ Supplier risk premium: ~7% (the buffer they build in for market movements over your contract term)

→ Supplier margin and operating costs: ~3% (their profit and running costs)

→ VAT: ~13% (20% applied to everything above)

And that's before your standing charge, which sits on top and collects additional network and infrastructure costs separately.

Most fixed contracts bundle the first five into a single unit rate. As the bill payer, you never see the breakdown. You just pay the number.

The wholesale cost is the only component that moves daily. Everything else is relatively stable, and in some cases actively going up.

(Network charges alone jumped 94–120% in April 2026 due to grid infrastructure investment. That’s already baked into every new contract being signed right now.)

The risk premium is the part that should really make you think about your current contract.

Your supplier charges you extra on every unit, for every day of your contract, to protect themselves against price movements. It's not to protect you. It's to protect them.

With Bionic, you pay the wholesale cost plus a transparent subscription fee. No buffer, no hidden margin, no long-term gamble baked into your rate.

You see exactly what you’re paying, and why. Of course the idea is to reduce your consumption in the first place.

Ready to switch: see your wholesale rate and get a subscription forecast.

⚡If your business is on a fixed energy contract, this is for you. Get a business energy consumption quote

Not quite ready yet? Join the renewal list and we'll reach out before your contract window closes.

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