Energy Levy

Key takeaways

“Energy levy” is a broad term people use for policy-related charges that fund energy schemes.

Some levies are electricity-only, some gas-related, and they can be charged per kWh, per meter, or recovered through pricing.

If you’re on pass-through pricing, levies can show as separate items, so it’s worth checking what’s included.

What does “energy levy” mean?

In day-to-day business billing, “energy levy” often means policy costs: charges linked to government or regulator-run schemes that are recovered through suppliers.

Ofgem publishes and administers multiple environmental and social schemes, and these types of schemes are commonly what businesses mean when they say “levies”.

Common examples you may hear called “levies”

Depending on your tariff and fuel type, “levy” might refer to things like:

• Renewables Obligation (RO) and FiT/CfD/Capacity Market (electricity policy costs)
• Climate Change Levy (CCL) (a tax on non-domestic energy use)
• Green Gas Levy (GGL) (gas suppliers levy funding the Green Gas Support Scheme)

Important point: suppliers don’t always label these consistently, so the best approach is to focus on what’s included vs what’s separate.

Where levies show up on quotes

All-inclusive

• policy costs are bundled into your unit rate.

Pass-through

• some levies may be separate and can change over time.

So if you’re trying to avoid surprises, ask:

1. “Are policy costs included?”
2. “If not, which ones are pass-through?”

Sources

1. Ofgem: Environmental and social schemes overview (schemes administered and context).
2. Ofgem: Green Gas Support Scheme and Green Gas Levy (supplier guidance area).
3. UK Government: Green Gas Levy rates and exemptions (publishes rates and updates).