Commercial Electricity Prices 2026: What UK Businesses Pay
The import rate is the single most important number in any solar calculation — it is the value of every kWh you stop buying. This page sets out what UK businesses are actually paying in 2026, and why the business solar calculator defaults to 26p/kWh.
Typical fixed-contract unit rates, early 2026
Indicative ranges for new fixed contracts. Individual quotes vary with credit profile, consumption shape and contract length.
| Consumption band | Unit rate (per kWh) | Standing charge | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro business (under 25,000 kWh/yr) | 27–34p | £0.60–£1.80/day | Highest unit rates; least negotiating power |
| Small business (25,000–100,000 kWh/yr) | 25–30p | £1.00–£2.50/day | Typical shop, office, small workshop |
| Medium business (100,000–500,000 kWh/yr) | 23–28p | £2–£8/day | Most warehouses and light industrial sites |
| Large / half-hourly metered (500,000+ kWh/yr) | 20–26p | Capacity-charged | Bespoke contracts; DUoS and capacity charges itemised |
| Out-of-contract / deemed rates | 30–45p | Up to £3+/day | The penalty for letting a contract lapse |
Ranges compiled from published supplier tariffs and brokered contract data, winter 2025/26. Always read the unit rate off your own bill before running the calculator — it beats any table.
Why business electricity costs what it costs in 2026
The wholesale cost of the electricity itself is now well under half of a commercial bill. The rest is "non-commodity": network charges for the wires (DUoS and TNUoS), policy costs that fund renewables schemes and capacity market payments, supplier margin, and metering. Wholesale prices have fallen a long way from the 2022–23 crisis peaks, but non-commodity costs have risen steadily — which is why 2026 unit rates remain roughly double what businesses paid in 2020 even with a calmer wholesale market.
That structure matters for solar economics. Every kWh you generate behind the meter avoids the whole stack — wholesale, networks, policy and margin — not just the wholesale slice. This is why on-site generation at 26p/kWh displacement is so much more valuable than export at 12p, and why the on-site use percentage dominates the payback maths in the calculator method.
Three pricing traps that distort solar calculations
Out-of-contract rates. A business that lets a fixed contract lapse rolls onto deemed rates of 30–45p/kWh. If that is you, fix the contract first — then run the calculator at the new rate. Modelling solar against a panic rate flatters the payback and leads to oversized systems.
The standing charge illusion. Solar does not reduce standing charges, capacity charges or most fixed fees. If your bill is £3,000 a month but £400 of that is fixed, the calculator's spend-to-kWh conversion will slightly oversize your system. Entering annual kWh directly from the bill avoids the distortion entirely.
Day/night splits. Sites on two-rate meters often quote their blended average. Solar displaces daytime units, which are the expensive ones — sometimes 4–8p above the blend. If you have a two-rate bill, use the day rate as your import rate for a more honest answer.
Where prices go from here
Nobody prices 25 years of UK electricity with a straight face, so the calculator does not try: its 25-year figure holds prices flat, which has been a conservative assumption in every decade since the 1990s. The structural pressures — network reinforcement for electrification, rising peak demand from EVs and heat pumps — point upward over the long run even as wholesale costs ease. A business that fixes its solar cost today is effectively buying 25 years of daytime electricity at a known price; the calculator's job is to tell you what that price is. For most 2026 installs it works out at 5–9p per kWh generated over the system's life, against a 26p grid rate.
To see the effect of your real rate, take it off your latest bill and put it straight into the calculator — the year-1 saving and payback update instantly. Then check the worked examples to see complete calculations at three common system sizes.