Understanding business energy shouldn’t be complicated. This glossary breaks down every key term you’ll find on energy bills, supplier contracts, and the wider UK energy market.
Prefer to speak over the phone?
Call our UK business energy consultants on 0800 054 8811
The broker’s fee, built in or billed.
Rates when you’re supplied without a deal.
A contract that keeps renewing.
Fixed p/kWh for a term.
Market-linked buying in stages.
Extra protections for very small firms.
Default rates after your deal ends.
You pay non-commodity charges “at cost”.
The period to renew before expiry.
A contract that “rolls on” after expiry.
How much notice you must give to exit.
Prices move with an index.
Rates can change any time.
Cost of balancing the grid.
A security-of-supply charge.
Business energy tax per kWh.
A low-carbon support mechanism.
Local network charge.
Policy charges added to bills.
A legacy renewables scheme cost.
The “pipes and wires” costs.
The non-energy part of your bill.
Charges billed at cost.
Legacy renewables scheme cost.
Daily fixed fee for an active energy supply.
Non-supplier bill components.
National grid network cost.
Price per kWh you use.
The cost suppliers pay for energy.
Total greenhouse gas emissions associated with a business's activity.
Earning revenue by reducing or shifting demand when the grid needs help.
A structured review of how a business uses energy and where it can save.
A grade (A–G) showing how energy-efficient a building or product is.
A documented plan to cut a business's energy use across sites and time.
Energy Performance Certificate — required when most buildings are sold or let.
An energy tariff marketed as backed by renewable generation.
An electric system that moves heat for heating (and cooling) far more efficiently than fossil fuel boilers.
Moving flexible energy use away from peak hours to cut cost and carbon.
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible and balancing the rest.
Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin — certificates proving renewable output.
Steady, round-the-clock electricity demand (and the generation that meets it).
The market that sets electricity prices for delivery on the next day.
The blend of generation sources (gas, wind, nuclear, etc.) supplying electricity.
Where energy is bought and sold for delivery weeks, months or years ahead.
The maximum amount of electricity a generator (or fleet) can produce.
Locking in energy prices in advance to reduce exposure to wholesale swings.
A subsea/overland cable linking GB's grid to another country's grid.
The Electricity System Operator that balances supply and demand on GB's grid.
Electricity demand and supply during the higher-demand hours of the day.
The price of energy for immediate or very short-term delivery.
Matching electricity supply to demand in real time to keep the grid stable.
The market where suppliers buy electricity and gas in bulk before selling on.
A real meter read.
Automatic meter readings.
They total your meter data.
They collect your meter data.
A supplier’s best guess.
Usage recorded every 30 minutes.
A typical usage “shape”.
Your peak power draw.
They install and maintain meters.
Your electricity supply number.
Your gas supply number.
How your usage is modelled.
First-generation smart meter.
Second-generation smart meter.
Rules limiting how far back a supplier can charge you for missed energy use.
How often your supplier issues bills (e.g. monthly, quarterly).
Updating the supplier when a new business takes over an energy supply.
A short window after signing where you can cancel without penalty.
A formal dispute raised when a bill is believed to be wrong.
Independent service that resolves disputes between customers and suppliers.
Ofgem's programme that cut energy switching time to 5 working days.
A defect that makes a meter record usage incorrectly (or not at all).
Requesting money back from a supplier (e.g. for overpayment or incorrect billing).
When your current supplier blocks a switch (usually for debt or contract end-date).
The process of moving your gas or electricity supply to a new supplier.
Clear filters
Get your business energy quote now and save up to 45%
