Perhaps you dutifully pay your energy bill every month, but, without context, you may have no idea whether you are using or paying too much – or not. Looking at the average business energy consumption in the UK can give you an indication of where your business falls on the average gas and electricity usage scale.

Of course, your average business energy consumption depends on a number of variables, including:

● The electrical appliances and machinery used - intensity and duration

● The time of day, week and year

● The size of your business

● The nature of your business and the relative amount of energy required to run it

For the purposes of this business energy consumption comparison, we’ll break down the average business energy consumption by the size of the business:

● Micro business

● Small business

● Medium business

Having an idea of how much energy businesses of a similar size are spending on electricity helps your business identify if you are using too much energy - or being charged too much for it!

FYI - Comparing UK energy tariffs to the rest of Europe, the UK falls somewhere around the middle.

Average business electricity consumption

Relative to business size, here are the estimated average business electricity consumption figures for organisations in the UK:

● Micro business: 5 000 - 15 000 kWh per year, with an average annual electricity cost of £1 349

● Small business: 15 000 - 30 000 kWh per year, with an average annual electricity cost of £2 566

● Medium business: 30 000 - 50 000 kWh per year, with an average annual electricity cost of £4 208

Average business gas consumption

Relative to business size, here are the estimated average business electricity consumption figures for organisations in the UK:

● Micro business: 5 000 - 15 000 kWh per year, with an average annual gas bill of £516

● Small business: 15 000 - 30 000 kWh per year, with an average annual gas bill of £965

● Medium business: 30 000 - 50 000 kWh per year, with an average annual gas bill of £1 502

So, how do your business energy consumption and prices compare?

You can use your electricity bills to compare your own energy costs to the national averages above. It’s helpful to look at both the consumption (kWh per year), as well as the annual cost. This will help you identify whether you could be using too much or paying too much.

How to reduce your average business energy consumption and bills

Business energy broker Smarter Business put together a helpful guide to help your business reduce energy consumption AND save on energy costs for businesses of any size. Click here to view or download this free ‘how-to’ manual. https://smarterbusiness.co.uk/your-business-energy-saving-guide/