What's on a typical industrial electricity bill
| Charge | What it pays for | Can you influence it? | |---|---|---| | Wholesale energy | The power itself | Yes, through timing and purchasing strategy | | DUoS | Local distribution network | Yes, through load shifting and capacity | | TNUoS | National transmission network | Partly, through charging band and Triad avoidance | | BSUoS | Balancing the grid | Limited | | RO, FiT, CfD, CM | Government policy schemes | Yes, through BICS or EII exemptions | | CCL | Climate Change Levy | Yes, through a CCA |
DUoS: red, amber and green bands
DUoS unit rates change by time of day. The red band, usually weekday late afternoons and early evenings, can cost many times more per kWh than green. Plants that can move flexible loads out of red, such as batch processes, charging, compressors or pre-cooling, often save significantly without reducing output. Fixed DUoS charges, including capacity (kVA), sit alongside the unit rates.
TNUoS and Triads
Since the Targeted Charging Review, most TNUoS is recovered through fixed daily charges set by your site's charging band, based on voltage and capacity or consumption. Check your band is correct, because a misallocated site can overpay for years. Half-hourly sites also pay a locational element linked to demand during the three winter peak periods known as Triads. Reducing load during likely Triad periods still has value for some plants.
Policy levies: the biggest cut for many manufacturers
The Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, Contracts for Difference and Capacity Market are passed through on almost every business bill. Eligible manufacturers can now be exempted:
- EII / British Industry Supercharger covers all four, plus network charge compensation.
- BICS covers RO, FiT and CM from April 2027, worth up to £40/MWh. Applications close on 30 November 2026.
Checking non-commodity charges for errors
Common mistakes include the wrong DUoS tariff or line loss factor, an incorrect TNUoS charging band, excess capacity charged in error, and exemptions not applied to every meter. Because these are pass-through costs, suppliers will usually correct and refund them once the error is evidenced.
Frequently asked questions
They're everything on your electricity bill other than the wholesale cost of energy: network charges (DUoS, TNUoS), balancing costs (BSUoS), government levies (RO, FiT, CfD, Capacity Market) and taxes such as CCL.
They're time-of-day bands for Distribution Use of System charges. Red is the most expensive period, usually weekday late afternoons and early evenings, and green is the cheapest.
The residual part of TNUoS is now charged as a fixed band-based charge, but half-hourly metered sites still pay a locational demand element linked to Triad periods, so peak avoidance can still save money.
Often, yes. If a supplier or network operator applied the wrong tariff, band or capacity, the error can usually be corrected and past bills refunded once it's evidenced.