Business gas prices: what you should be paying in July 2026

A small business pays around 7.9p per kWh for fixed-rate gas as of July 2026 (source: Business Energy Deals, 22 July 2026). Standing charges vary by supplier and meter; the same source's worked example uses 35p a day. Your rate depends on usage, region and the date you signed.

Those are market averages; yours will differ. The table below breaks them down by business size. If your bill looks very different from its row, this page will help you work out why, and what to do about it.

Business gas prices by business size

No published average exists for usage under 10,000 kWh a year, so we've folded micro usage into the small band rather than guess. If you use less than that, expect to pay at or above the small-band rate per kWh, and note that smaller businesses get extra contract protections under Ofgem's micro-business rules (more in the questions below).

Bigger usage buys a lower unit rate. That's the whole pattern in the table. But averages hide a wide spread between suppliers, and which one quotes lowest for your meter changes week to week. The only number that settles it is a quote for your actual meter.

Usage isn't the only lever, either. Suppliers price by region, because the cost of moving gas differs by distribution network; AquaSwitch's July 2026 guide names the East Midlands as the cheapest network area. Contract length shifts the rate, and so does your credit history, because suppliers price in the risk of not being paid. None of that fits in a table. All of it shows up in a quote.

Business gas prices per kWh, explained

Your unit rate has three parts: the wholesale cost of the gas itself, the cost of moving it through the network to your meter, and the supplier's margin. Wholesale is the part that moves, and in July 2026 it's moving a lot.

The NBP day-ahead price settled at 121.50p per therm on 9 July 2026, easing to around 118.5p the next day, with the Winter 2026 forward price at 122.31p per therm (source: Catalyst Commercial market report, 10 July 2026). The report puts the volatility down to Norwegian supply cuts and Middle East risk. When forward prices jump, the fixed rates suppliers quote jump with them.

The direction of travel matters for your renewal maths. Average fixed rates for 2026 sit at 7.12p per kWh for small businesses, 6.62p for medium and 6.42p for large, up from 6.36p, 5.86p and 5.66p in 2025 (source: Business Energy Deals historical rates). Waiting for prices to fall back has been a losing bet for a year.

One more thing the averages hide: your fixed rate reflects the forward market on the day you signed. Two identical shops on the same street can pay different rates because one signed in a calm week and one didn't. That's not unfairness, it's timing. It is, however, why comparing your rate to this month's table tells you whether it's time to look again.

Are your rates good, bad or a loyalty tax?

This comparison matters more than any table above.

You end up on deemed rates by doing nothing: a lapsed renewal, or moving into premises and not signing a contract. Nobody chooses them. Suppliers set them, and the gap between the two rows is the loyalty tax, paid monthly, for as long as you leave it.

If that's you, the fix is faster than you'd think. Deemed contracts carry no exit fee and need no notice; you can leave any time, and a switch typically completes in 5 to 10 working days (source: EnergyCosts.co.uk). The sting is ten minutes of admin. The alternative is the top row of that table, indefinitely. More detail in our deemed rates guide, and if the trigger was a renewal letter, start at our business gas renewal page.

Fixed, variable and the other tariff types

Every rate on this page is a fixed rate, because that's what most businesses sign: the unit rate is locked until your end date, and the supplier can't raise it mid-contract. Variable tariffs track the market instead, which cuts both ways and has made them a rough ride in 2026. Deemed and out-of-contract rates are the expensive defaults covered above; nobody signs up for them on purpose. Some suppliers also offer green gas tariffs backed by biomethane or carbon offsets. Larger users can buy flexible or pass-through contracts, where you carry the wholesale risk yourself; that's a purchasing strategy, covered in our energy procurement guide (live shortly).

Standing charges, explained

The standing charge is a fixed daily fee you pay whether you burn gas or not. It covers your network connection, metering and the supplier's fixed costs. No source publishes average business standing charges by size band, because they genuinely vary by supplier, meter and site; they're quoted per meter, per deal. For scale: Business Energy Deals' July 2026 worked example uses 35p a day for a small business, while deemed arrangements run as high as 60p a day (EnergyCosts.co.uk).

Judge the unit rate and the standing charge together. A deal with a low unit rate and a high standing charge can cost a low-usage business more overall. If your usage is seasonal or small, ask us to run both versions of the maths before you sign.

What else is on your bill

Two lines sit on top of the rates above, and both changed recently or will.

Climate Change Levy (CCL): 0.801p per kWh on business gas from 1 April 2026, up from 0.775p, and rising to 0.827p from 1 April 2027 (source: HMRC). Businesses with a Climate Change Agreement get an 89% discount on the gas rate. Who's exempt and how to claim relief is covered in our Climate Change Levy guide.

VAT: 20% on business gas as standard, dropping to the reduced rate if your usage averages 145 kWh a day or less, or for charity and domestic non-business use (source: HMRC VAT Notice 701/19). Whether you qualify, and how to reclaim if you've been overcharged, is in our VAT on business energy guide.

Neither appears in our table above. Add them mentally before comparing any quote to your current bill.