Businesses and other organisations in Sheffield used 1,172 GWh of electricity in 2024 across 17,199 business meters, according to Department for Energy Security and Net Zero figures. That is 23.4% less than in 2015 and 2.6% less than in 2023.
The average Sheffield business meter used 68,168 kWh, against a Great Britain average of 61,524 kWh. Sheffield ranks third of 15 council areas in Yorkshire and the Humber by business electricity use.
Across South Yorkshire, the four council areas used 2,990 GWh between them. Every one of them used less than in its first year in the series: the smallest fall was in Barnsley (4.9%) and the biggest in Sheffield (23.4%). Doncaster’s comparable series starts in 2012; Rotherham’s comparable series starts in 2012, the others in 2015.
On prices, the smallest businesses in Great Britain, using up to 20 MWh a year, paid an average of 38.36p per kWh for electricity in Q2 2026, the highest in the government series, which starts in 2004. Firms using 20 to 499 MWh paid 28.59p and the very largest users, over 150,000 MWh, paid 22.25p. At the smallest firms’ rate, every 1,000 kWh costs £383.60 before VAT.
How the figures were worked out
Electricity use comes from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s subnational electricity consumption statistics for 2024, the latest year published, on current council boundaries. Non-domestic means businesses and other organisations, including public buildings. Use per meter is total consumption divided by the number of meters. Prices come from the department’s Quarterly Energy Prices, table 3.4.2, published 29 September 2026: they are average prices actually paid across Great Britain, including the Climate Change Levy and excluding VAT, and Q2 2026 figures are provisional. They are national averages by business size, not prices for Sheffield. Figures compiled by Business Energy Consultant.
Sheffield’s figures, with a chart since 2015: Business Energy Consultant: business electricity use in Sheffield.
Business Energy Consultant, which offers business energy quotes, is published by Domain Farm Limited, which also publishes Sheffield Business News.