Commercial electricity
How to compare business electricity rates
A supplier comparison prices the supply half of your bill and nothing else. Delivery — the customer charge, demand charges and riders — is set by your utility, and no supplier can change it. On many commercial accounts delivery is the larger half, which is how a business switches to the cheapest quote on the market and sees almost no difference.
What a comparison actually compares
| Charge | Set by | In the comparison? |
|---|---|---|
| Supply rate (¢/kWh) | Whoever you buy from | Yes |
| Customer charge | Your utility's tariff | No |
| Demand charge (per kW) | Your utility's tariff | No |
| Distribution and riders | Your utility's tariff | No |
| Taxes | State and local | No |
One row out of five. That is not a criticism of comparison sites — supply is the only half anyone can sell you. It is a warning about reading a supply quote as if it were a bill.
Five steps, in order
- 1.Work out your all-in rate. Divide your total bill by your kWh. It will be higher than any advertised supply rate, because it includes delivery. This is the only number a quote should be measured against.
- 2.Separate supply from delivery. Find both on the bill. If delivery is most of what you pay, a better supply rate moves a small share of the total — worth doing, but not the fix you were hoping for.
- 3.Pull twelve months of usage. Quotes are priced against a usage band and a load shape. One month produces a quote for a business that is not yours, particularly if that month was a seasonal peak.
- 4.Read the term and the exit fee before the rate. The term decides which seasons the price covers. The termination fee — typically $50 to $200 — bounds how wrong the decision can go if you need out.
- 5.Check your rate schedule too. This is the step no comparison includes. The delivery half depends on which schedule your utility put you on, and if your usage changed since they assigned it, you may be on the wrong one.
What the delivery half looks like
These figures come from the tariffs filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio — the half a supplier quote never mentions:
- Ohio Edison, Rate GS. $7.00 a month before any usage, then $12.80 per kW of demand up to 5 kW — with a floor that bills at least 5 kW whatever the meter says.
- Duke Energy Ohio, Rate DS. $23.00 single phase or $46.00 three phase, plus $6.9678 per kW — and if your load factor falls below 71, billing demand is recalculated upward.
None of that changes when you switch supplier. All of it changes if you are on the wrong rate schedule.
Where the supply comparison does pay off
To be clear, shopping supply is worth doing. In Ohio the spread between the default supply rate and the best competitive offer runs from 1.78¢ per kWh in Ohio Edison territory to 5.73¢ in AEP Ohio — real money on a bill of any size, and free to act on.
The regulator's own comparison tool lists every certified supplier, is free, and is ordered by nothing. It is the right place to shop the supply half.
If you want both halves priced rather than one, send us a bill. We will tell you what you pay all-in, whether a supply switch is worth it, and whether the rate schedule underneath is the right one. Sometimes the answer is that the quote you were given is already good.
Send my billFree, and we don’t take commissions from suppliers.
Related: the half a comparison cannot price, rates by state, how demand charges work, or what a bill audit finds.
Common questions
How do I compare business electricity rates?
Get your current all-in rate first — total bill divided by kWh — then compare quotes against that, not against a headline number. Check the term, the early termination fee, and whether the rate is fixed or introductory. And remember the quote only covers supply; the delivery half of your bill is set by your utility and no supplier can change it.
Are business electricity comparison sites free?
They are free to you and paid by the supplier, usually per enrollment. That's a legitimate model, but it means the list you see is ordered by what each supplier pays, and no comparison site has a reason to tell you that switching won't help.
What's the catch with a low headline rate?
Three usual ones: it's an introductory rate that floats afterward, it assumes a usage band you don't fall into, or it excludes charges that reappear on the bill. Read what the rate becomes in month four, not month one.
Should I compare rates if I have a demand charge?
Compare, but expect less. Demand charges sit on the delivery half and no supplier can touch them. If demand is a large share of your bill, the bigger saving is usually in your rate schedule rather than your supplier.
How often should I compare business electricity rates?
At renewal, and about 60 days before your contract ends — that's enough time to shop without rolling onto a variable rate. Comparing mid-contract usually costs more in termination fees than the new rate saves.
What information do I need to compare properly?
Twelve months of kWh, your peak demand in kW if your bill shows one, your current rate schedule code, and your contract end date. Any comparison run without those is a guess dressed as a quote.