Help understanding your business energy bills
How are business energy bills calculated?
The way your business energy bills are worked out depends on more than just how much energy is used in a month. The amount you're billed each month will depend upon a variety of different factors such as:
How much energy your business consumes - The number of kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy you use will be multiplied by the unit rate you pay on your current tariff. For example, if you use 100 kWh of electricity a month at a unit rate of 20p per kWh, you'll be charged £200 for that month's usage.
The Standing Charge - This is fixed daily charge you pay regardless of how much electricity or gas you use. The charge covers the costs of maintaining the energy supply network, operating costs, and supporting government policies. This rate will be multiplied by the number of days in the billing period. For example, if your Standing Charge is 50p per day and the billing period is a 31-day month, you'll pay £15.50 in Standing Charges that month.
Taxes and levies - Additional charges like VAT and the Climate Change Levy (CCL) will be added to your bill. If your business is eligible for any energy discounts, such as the reduced 5% VAT rate, this will also be shown on your bill and be included in the total amount you need to pay.
Understanding your business energy bills
We’ve put together some guidance to help you understand your business energy bills. Below, we’ll cover the key areas to help you feel equipped to understand your bills each month:
How are business energy bills calculated
How to understand your fixed gas bill
How to understand your fixed electricity bill
Accessing your business energy bills
What to do if you have a query
How to understand your fixed gas bill
Our bills differ slightly depending on the type of contract you have with us. We have a bill explainer for our fixed contracts below.
This provides an overview of the various elements of your bill, breaking things down to explain how your final billing figure has been calculated.
How to understand your fixed electricity bill
The type of electricity bill you receive each month will depend on the type of meter you have – some meters are read monthly (this is most common for small - medium sized businesses and known as non-half hourly), while others are read half-hourly (this applies mainly to businesses that consume large amounts of electricity). If you’re struggling to understand your electricity bills, then be sure to check out our fixed electricity bill explainer below.
Accessing your energy bills
Bills are sent to Shell Energy customers by email each month.
You can also view your bills, payment history, account balance and statements using our customer portal – My Account. Within the portal you can also set up notifications for when your latest bills are ready. If you don’t have access to My Account yet, you can register here.
What to do if you have a query
If you’re concerned your latest energy bill is incorrect, the best thing to do is contact one of our Shell Energy experts – they’re on hand and happy to help. You can contact us by phone on: 0330 088 2679 or by email at: SEUKL-contactus@shell.com.