A guide to non-energy costs

26 June 2026

Did you know more than 60% of your business energy bill can be made up from non-energy costs (also known as non-commodity costs) unrelated to the energy you actually use?

It used to be a 50/50 split, but these third-party charges have steadily increased – and are expected to continue rising in the future as the UK upgrades its energy systems.

Understanding your energy bill

There are two parts to your bill... energy vs. non-energy costs.

This is how they’re split:

Energy costs
The energy itself, so where you're paying for the actual electricity or gas your business has used. This is known as the commodity cost.
Non-energy costs
These include paying towards the costs of running, maintaining and upgrading the energy network and the costs of environmental and social policies.

Electricity costs split

So, what are non-energy costs?

Non-energy costs can be grouped into two main categories:

Network charges
Help to pay for the cost of maintaining, improving and balancing the energy network.
Policy charges
Help to pay for the government’s environmental and social policies related to energy and sustainability.

Why are non-energy costs rising?

Non-energy costs are set through a combination of government policy mechanisms, industry agreed charging structures, and regulatory oversight by Ofgem. Every energy supplier works to the exact same framework.

These are the three key drivers currently impacting prices:

National demand
Most non-energy charges are consumption-based and are spread across the expected levels of national energy consumption. But if national demand is lower, the costs must be recovered from fewer units, driving up individual prices.
New charges
The introduction of new government schemes adds small but frequent new levies to your bill.
Infrastructure development
Significant ongoing funding is needed to maintain and upgrade the physical network of pipes and wires that keep the UK’s energy supply safe and reliable.

Jargon-buster

Let's take a closer look at each charge. We've highlighted the key ones here, but you'll find full details of all charges in the guide you can download below.

Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS)

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.

Distribution Use of System Charges (DUoS)

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.

Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS)

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.

Renewables Obligation (RO)

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 (CfD)

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-energy 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 (FiT)

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.

Capacity Market

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.

Nuclear Regulated Asset Base (Nuclear RAB)

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.

What does this mean for business customers?

For many small business customers, this is usually totals less than £1 a day1 a small extra amount each month, per meter. The exact amount depends on the meter, consumption and the length of the contract.

What we're doing to keep costs down

We’ve worked to reduce the impact of these changes on British businesses where we can. Since these costs were announced:

We quickly factored these costs into all new contracts after they were announced
Working with others in the industry and engaged Ofgem to limit the increase in costs. This helped to ensure network costs are lower than they would have been
We covered £30 million in additional costs for you and other customers who had already agreed contracts before we were notified.

We know UK businesses are already feeling the pressure of energy costs, and we share those concerns. We’re working closely with organisations including the Confederation of British Industry and Energy UK to identify practical changes that could help reduce costs where possible.

Further help and support

Want to understand the additional items on your bill? Visit Understanding non-energy costs on your bill page for a clear breakdown of what they mean.

Financial help

If you're finding it hard to manage your business energy costs, we may be able to help you. Depending on your situation this can include affordable payment plans, extra time to pay and energy-saving tools and tips to help reduce your energy use.

Visit Financial advice to find out more about the support and chat with us.

Download our guide to Non-Commodity costs

Don't let your energy bill be a mystery. Download our guide to ‘Understanding Non-Commodity Costs’ for even more insight.

Understanding Non-Commodity Costs (PDF, 1.04 MB)

Additional information

This estimate is provided as a guide. It's based on an average micro business annual electricity use of 18750 kWh, a 'TNUoS RIIO-3 Charge' of 0.63p/kWh and a 'Nuclear RAB Levy' of 0.475p/kWh.

The views, opinions and positions expressed within the British Gas business Blog are those of the author alone and do not represent those of British Gas. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this blog are not guaranteed. British Gas accepts no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright in the content within the British Gas business Blog belongs to the authors of such content and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. See the Fuel mix used to generate our electricity. Read about making a complaint about your business energy.