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Industry Insight·5 August 2026 · 6 min read
The Hidden Costs in Your Business Energy Bill
Your energy bill contains more than just a unit rate. Understanding the full cost stack helps you identify where savings are achievable.
By Vantage Market Intelligence Team
Beyond the Unit Rate
Many businesses focus on the headline unit rate when comparing energy contracts. But your bill contains a range of charges that can significantly impact your total cost.
The Electricity Cost Stack
- Wholesale energy cost — the commodity price
- TNUoS — Transmission Network Use of System charges
- DUoS — Distribution Network Use of System charges
- Capacity charges — based on your agreed import/export capacity
- CCL — Climate Change Levy
- RO/FiT — Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff
- Supplier margin — the supplier's operating costs and profit
The Gas Cost Stack
- Wholesale gas cost — the commodity price
- Network charges — transportation and distribution
- CCL — Climate Change Levy
- Supplier margin — the supplier's operating costs and profit
Why This Matters
A headline unit rate of 25p/kWh might look competitive, but if the standing charges and capacity charges are inflated, the total cost could be higher than a 27p/kWh contract with lower non-commodity charges. Vantage reviews the full cost stack to ensure genuine like-for-like comparisons.
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