Energy Explained by Simplest Energy

Energy is complicated.
Reading about it
should not be.

Clear, visual guides to the charges, schemes and data inside every UK business energy bill.

ILLUSTRATIVE ELECTRICITY BILL£82,410

ENERGY£38,442

NETWORK£21,387

POLICY£17,206

METERING + OTHER£5,376

Distribution Use of SystemTransmission Network Use of SystemBalancing Services Use of SystemAssistance for Areas with High Electricity Distribution CostsContracts for Difference levyCapacity Market chargeNuclear Regulated Asset Base levyClimate Change LevyNon-commodity chargesMeter Point Administration NumberHalf-hourly meteringSettlement periodDistribution Use of SystemTransmission Network Use of SystemBalancing Services Use of SystemAssistance for Areas with High Electricity Distribution CostsContracts for Difference levyCapacity Market chargeNuclear Regulated Asset Base levyClimate Change LevyNon-commodity chargesMeter Point Administration NumberHalf-hourly meteringSettlement period

Explore the system

Start with the
question you have.

Not sure what a term means, why a rate changed, or whether a supplier calculation is right? Pick the part of the system you are looking at.

01COLLECTION

Bills

What each line on a business electricity invoice is, and which ones are worth checking.

02COLLECTION

Government schemes

Exemptions, compensation and relief schemes, and what it takes to actually receive one.

REVIEWED 5 AUGUST 2026

Featured guide

What is on a business electricity bill

A business electricity bill is four different kinds of cost printed as one number: the energy, the networks that deliver it, the levies that fund energy policy, and tax. Most of it is set by somebody other than your supplier, and published in advance.

Read the complete guide

THE BILL / 2026FOUR KINDS
OF COST

ONE INVOICE£FOUR SOURCES

ENERGY47%

NETWORK26%

POLICY21%

OTHER6%

SET BY SOMEBODY OTHER THAN YOUR SUPPLIER53%

Published in advanceReset every 1 AprilIllustrative shares

What do you need
to understand today?

01 / BILLS

We generate a lot of our own power. Does that count?

The Energy Explained standard

Useful before
it is impressive.

Start at the bill

Every explanation connects the industry rule to the number, rate or volume a customer actually sees.

Show the working

Formulas, dates, assumptions and source discrepancies stay visible instead of being buried in footnotes.

Name the source

Primary documents from DBT, Ofgem, NESO and the network operators, not second-hand summaries.

From knowledge to evidence

Now check what
you were billed.

Simplest Energy rebuilds the expected charges from published industry data and compares them with the supplier invoice, line by line.

See how validation works

ILLUSTRATIVE PRODUCT VIEW

Validation status2 charges need attention

14 / 16 matched

ChargeInvoicedExpectedResult

DUoS£21,387.42£21,387.42✓ MATCH

CfD£5,882.10£0.00! CHECK EII

Capacity Market£2,410.31£0.00! CHECK EII

Potential difference£8,292.41

ReferenceThe glossary

30 terms from a UK business energy bill, each defined so it stands on its own.

Energy is complicated.Reading about itshould not be.

Bills

Government schemes

What is on a business electricity bill

Why has my business electricity bill gone up when my usage has not?

What are non-commodity charges?

Do I pay VAT on business electricity?

We made a loss last year. Are we disqualified?

Can we exclude a bad year to qualify?

We generate a lot of our own power. Does that count?

Useful beforeit is impressive.

Now check whatyou were billed.

Energy is complicated.
Reading about it
should not be.

Useful before
it is impressive.

Now check what
you were billed.