Guide to non-commodity costs

Think of the “system” as the motorways of the electricity grid and the charge as the toll to use it. Most businesses pay a fixed daily amount, which varies according to the type of electricity meter you have and your consumption band, and pays for things like essential repairs, and maintenance. There are also Distribution Use of System (DUoS) charges, think of these as the local roads that connect your property to the motorway.

Think of these as a delivery fee, paid to the local network operators that build, maintain, and operate the cables, substations and infrastructure that move power from regional substations into your business.

This charge covers the cost of keeping the energy grid perfectly balanced – matching the amount of electricity being generated to the amount being used at every second of the day. It also pays towards maintaining the system’s security.

The Renewables Obligation is a legacy government scheme that requires energy suppliers to source a set proportion of their electricity from approved renewable generators. The charge, included in your unit rate, is used to fund new large-scale renewable power projects. And the more electricity your business uses, the more you pay.

Contracts for Difference is a government scheme that supports investment in low-carbon energy like wind, solar and nuclear by guaranteeing a stable price for the electricity these projects generate. If the market price falls below the guaranteed level, non commodity charges top up the generator’s income. And if the market price is above the guaranteed level, the generator pays the difference back.

Feed-In-Tariff is a scheme designed to encourage homes and businesses to generate their own renewable or low-carbon electricity. Under the scheme, if you have small-scale renewable energy generation (like solar panels) you’ll get paid for every unit of renewable electricity you generate and export to the grid.

The capacity market helps to ‘keep the lights on’. It ensures the UK always has enough backup power available when there’s very high demand, or when renewable generation is low. 
Through the capacity market, energy generators are paid to ensure they have enough ‘back up’ energy available during these periods of high demand or low renewable supply.

The Nuclear RAB Levy is a levy introduced in December 2025 to help fund new, large-scale nuclear power stations. Nuclear provides stable, low-carbon baseload power, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and supports the UK’s target of 95% low-carbon electricity by 2030. While this levy means that bills may rise slightly now, the model aims to reduce long-term energy costs by lowering financing risks.