Why has my business electricity bill gone up when my usage hasn't?
Almost always one of five things: your contract ended and you dropped onto default rates, the standing charge rose, network or policy costs were rebased in April, a bill was estimated and has now been corrected, or your VAT treatment changed. Compare the unit rate and standing charge line by line against an older bill and the cause usually falls out in a minute.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026 by Utilities Made Simple · independent, whole-of-market, supplier-paid — how we are paid
Work through these in order
- Did the contract end? This is the big one. Out-of-contract rates commonly run 35–45p per kWh against a market of 22–30p per kWh for a new fixed contract. Check the contract end date on the bill.
- Has the standing charge moved? It is a fixed daily cost, currently around 45–65p a day on typical SME supplies, and it does not fall when you use less. On a low-usage site it can be most of the bill.
- Is it April? Network charges (DUoS and TUoS) and policy costs are reset on 1 April each year and flow through to pass-through contracts immediately. The Climate Change Levy also changed on 1 April 2026, from 0.775p to 0.801p per kWh.
- Was an earlier bill estimated? A catch-up bill after a real reading looks like a price rise but is really a timing correction. See my bill is estimated.
- Has your VAT rate changed? Moving from 5% to 20% adds 15% to everything, and brings CCL back with it. That can happen when a declaration expires.
The two-bill test
Put a recent bill next to one from before the rise and compare four numbers only: unit rate (p/kWh), standing charge (p/day), total kWh, and VAT rate. Whichever moved is your answer. If the kWh moved and nothing else did, it is genuinely consumption — and that is a different investigation, usually heating, refrigeration or something left running overnight.
If you would rather not do it yourself, send a recent bill to info@utilitiesms.co.uk and we will tell you which line moved.
Ask an energy specialist
If your question is not answered above, send it to us. A specialist answers personally, normally within one working day. No sales call, no obligation — and if the answer is "your deal is fine", that is what you will get.
Want this checked against your own bill?
Email a recent bill to info@utilitiesms.co.uk and a specialist will check your rates, VAT, levies and contract end date against the live market — free, usually the same working day. If your deal is already good, we will tell you to keep it.