Energy price guide: kW vs kWh – what’s the difference?

With recent rises in business energy prices, and government help for businesses soon coming to an end, a Newcastle-based energy claims expert is issuing advice for businesses to help them understand their energy bills.

Energy and legal experts, Business Energy Claims, is offering handy tips to help businesses to understand how their energy is measured and therefore how it is charged.

What’s the difference between a kW and kWh?

To understand how energy bills are charged, it is important to first understand how energy usage is measured and what the different units mean – this is especially true amongst small businesses, where business energy suppliers are often charging too much and left unchallenged.

Units of power are measured as kW, or kilowatts, whilst units of energy are measured as kWh, or kilowatt-hours, and the latter are typically used to measure how much energy a business consumes over a length of time.

A kW refers to how much energy a device requires, whilst a kWh measures how much energy is actually consumed – essentially a kW is the amount of power an appliance needs to work and the energy (kWh) is what is needed to keep the power going.

A kWh is the standard unit used by energy suppliers to calculate your gas and electricity bills – combined with the added daily standing charge which covers the costs of supplying energy.

There is no standard price for energy per kWh in the UK, which means costs could vary significantly from supplier to supplier – Business Energy Claims are urging businesses to hold their suppliers to account and continue to challenge any aspect of their energy contract that does not sit right with them.

Have you been mis-sold your energy contract?

The Newcastle-based energy litigation specialists are highlighting the ways in which businesses can potentially offset rising costs, following the emergence of an energy scandal involving rogue brokers.

Business Energy Claims is highlighting the need for businesses to question the way in which their energy contracts were sold and handled, with an estimated 2 million UK businesses potentially entitled to compensation for energy mis-selling.

Head of Claims, Hannah Stewart, said:Whilst we understand businesses are under an immense amount of pressure, it is vital that business owners continue to check their energy bills as soon as they are received and understand each aspect of their bill, querying with their supplier anything that does not appear correct.

“Energy bills are now also beginning to disclose the amount of commission your energy broker may be earning in line with the reforms that Ofgem established in October 2022 – If you have not seen this information at any point previously during your energy contract, you may have a claim for undisclosed commission.”

Business Energy Claims has a team of energy and legal experts helping businesses to recover hidden commissions and losses from the mis-selling of energy contracts.

If you believe you’ve been mis-sold your energy contract and think you’re entitled to compensation, call 0800 689 4259 or get in touch.

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