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How Energy Suppliers Actually Price Your Business

Behind the quote: wholesale cost, shape risk, credit risk and sales margin — and which of them you can influence.

3 May 2026 7 min read

The build-up of a unit rate

A supplier starts with the wholesale cost of your expected volume, adds shape and volume risk, adds network and levy costs, adds credit risk based on your profile, then adds margin. The final number is one figure hiding five decisions.

Where you have leverage

Three of those five components respond to what you do.

  • Shape risk falls with accurate half-hourly data
  • Credit risk falls with clean payment history and filed accounts
  • Margin falls when several suppliers are competing for the same site

Why quotes expire so quickly

Suppliers hedge wholesale positions when you accept. A quote left for a week is not a price they still hold, which is why decisive customers consistently secure better rates than indecisive ones.

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