The latest figures released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) give an indication of the average gas usage and cost for domestic customers in 2017, broken down by region with average unit costs.

Where does the BEIS get its data?

The BEIS receives data directly from the main energy companies that supply gas throughout the UK. The suppliers provide the BEIS with figures for each tariff:

Standing charges

Unit costs

Split levels

Discounts

Number of customers

Tariff changes

They then split the tariff information by region and payment types.

Average gas usage has changed…

The BEIS bases its data on fixed consumption of 15,000 kWh per year. Interestingly, previous domestic gas estimates (from the 1990’s) were based on standard consumption levels of 18,000kWh. In recent years, however, the average gas usage of typical households has changed, leading the BEIS to revise the levels to 15,000kWh for gas.

Average domestic gas costs in 2017*

Region Unit Cost Bill

East Midlands 4,10 615

Eastern 4,18 627

London 4,37 656

Merseyside & North Wales 4,20 630

North East 4,12 617

North Scotland 4,20 630

North West 4,16 624

South East 4,28 641

South Scotland 4,16 624

South Wales 4,25 638

South West 4,27 640

Southern 4,31 647

West Midlands 4,15 623

Yorkshire 4,06 609

Great Britain Total 4,20 630

*Source: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

How do these figures compare to 2016?

Average Direct Debit gas bills in Great Britain decreased by £6 in 2017 compared to average bills in 2016.

The average Standard Credit gas bills dropped by £10 in 2017.

What about average gas usage for businesses?

A simple way to compare your businesses’ gas to the average gas usage of other businesses is to break them down by size.

Here are the average gas usage figures for UK businesses, broken down by employee size:

1-10 employees: 5,000 kWh – 15,000 kWh

11-50 employees: 15,000 kWh – 30,000 kWh

51-250 employees: 30,000 kWh – 65,000 kWh

251+ employees: 65,000 kWh +

Although these figures and indicative of average gas usage for UK businesses, remember that every organisation has unique consumption habits. And no matter whether your business falls below or above these averages, it’s likely that your business stands to save on gas by having an effective energy strategy in place.