Published regularly throughout the year, Quarterly Energy Prices (QEP) is the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) publication covering energy prices. It contains tables, charts and commentary on industrial, domestic, oil/petroleum and international prices.
Publications
Provides information on the value of the economic activity that businesses generate and associated expenditure across the main industrial sectors in Northern Ireland.
Provides information on the value of the economic activity that businesses generate and associated expenditure across the main industrial sectors in Northern Ireland.
Statistics on energy prices to domestic and industrial consumers for all the major fuels.
This is an experimental statistical notice with estimates of the area of UK crops which have been grown for bioenergy. It covers wheat, oilseed rape, sugar beet, short rotation coppice, miscanthus and straw. It makes use and brings together a range of existing data collected by Defra, Dft and DECC.
Weekly prices of unleaded petrol and diesel
Overview
Quarterly Energy Prices is split into four sections and accompanying annexes.
Domestic Prices:
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Retail price of fuels for the domestic sector
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Domestic electricity bills
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Domestic gas bills
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Domestic electricity competition
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Domestic gas competition
Industrial Prices:
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Energy prices in the manufacturing sector
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Average prices of fuels purchased by the major UK power producers and of gas at UK delivery points
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Fuel price indices for the industrial sector
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Gas and electricity prices for the non-domestic sector in the UK
Oil and Petroleum Product Prices:
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Typical retail prices of petroleum products
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Crude oil prices
International Comparisons:
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Premium unleaded petrol prices in the EU
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Diesel prices in the EU
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Average annual industrial electricity prices, EU and G7
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Average industrial electricity prices in the EU by size of consumer
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Average annual domestic electricity prices, EU and G7
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Average domestic electricity prices in the EU by size of consumer
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Average annual industrial gas prices, EU and G7
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Average industrial gas prices in the EU by size of consumer
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Average annual domestic gas prices, EU and G7
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Average domestic gas prices in the EU by size of consumer
Technical notes, calorific values, conversion factors and effective rates of duty on principal hydrocarbon oils are supplied as annexes.
More detailed breakdowns of many of the tables are available online at the Quarterly Energy Prices website.
Technical Data
Detailed technical data can be found in annex A of each Quarterly Energy Prices publication.
Domestic Prices
The fuel components within the Retail Prices Index (RPI) are published, together with the all-items RPI. The RPI is calculated using prices collected on a day near the middle of each month and is published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The domestic bills and cost data used relate to the total bill including VAT in cash terms received during the calendar year, for the tariff type shown, including all tariff changes and rebates. Averages are weighted by the number of domestic customers. Bills and unit costs are based on published prices and include standing charges; no allowances are made for introductory offers or non-cash benefits that may be available from new suppliers. Both electricity and gas bills and costs reflect the prices of all suppliers. For electricity, an annual consumption of 3,300 kWh is used while the equivalent figure for gas is 18,000 kWh. Yearly bills are based on the calendar year.
Industrial Prices
Prices are derived from information collected via the Quarterly Fuels Inquiry on fuel purchases from a panel of about 800 establishments within the manufacturing industry (excluding electricity generation). The panel consists of companies purchasing fuels in small and large quantities. To maximise the coverage of each fuel type and minimise the burden on business, larger users are surveyed proportionally more than smaller users.
The prices given are representative market prices. This means trades that, because of their size or dominance of total consumption would produce an unrepresentative price, are excluded. For example, coal purchased by the iron and steel sector is excluded, as is gas purchased for electricity generation.
The prices for fuels used in electricity generation are collected via a quarterly inquiry of electricity generators in the UK, covering all companies whose prime purpose is the generation of electricity (including nuclear generation).
The prices for gas and electricity consumed by non-domestic users in the UK are the value and volume of energy sold during the quarter.
Oil and Petroleum Product Prices
The data published are national average prices calculated from prices supplied by all major motor fuel marketing companies. Because of the number of petroleum marketing companies operating in the UK and the diversity of their pricing policies, prices differ from dealer to dealer and from area to area.
International comparisons
International comparisons are based on data published by international organisations (namely the International Energy Agency and Eurostat). Motor fuel prices are taken from the European Commission’s ‘Oil Bulletin’.
Glossary
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AES
Association of Electricity Supplies.
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BG
British Gas.
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BIS
Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
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BNFL
British Nuclear Fuels plc.
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BRE
Building Research Establishment.
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Breeze
Breeze can generally be described as coke screened below 19 mm (three-quarters of an inch) with no fines removed but the screen size may vary in different areas and to meet the requirements of particular markets.
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Burning oil
A refined petroleum product, with a volatility in-between that of motor spirit and gas diesel oil primarily used for heating and lighting.
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Butane
Hydrocarbon, gaseous at normal temperature but generally stored and transported as a liquid. Used as a component in Motor Spirit to improve combustion, and for cooking and heating (see Liquefied Petroleum Gas).
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Calorific values (CVs)
The energy content of a fuel can be measured as the heat released on complete combustion. The SI (Système International) derived unit of energy and heat is the Joule. This is the energy per unit volume of the fuel and is often measured in GJ per tonne. The energy content can be expressed as an upper (or gross) value and a lower (or net) value. The difference between the two values is due to the release of energy from the condensation of water in the products of combustion. Gross calorific values are used throughout this publication.
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CCL
Climate Change Levy is a tax on the use of energy in industry, commerce and the public sector, with offsetting cuts in employers' National Insurance Contributions and additional support for energy efficiency schemes and renewable sources of energy. The aim of the levy is to encourage users to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
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CO2
Carbon dioxide, which contributes about 60 per cent of the potential global warming effect of man-made emissions of greenhouse gases. Although this gas is naturally emitted by living organisms, these emissions are offset by the uptake of carbon dioxide by plants during photosynthesis; they therefore tend to have no net effect on atmospheric concentrations. The burning of fossil fuels however, releases carbon dioxide fixed by plants many millions of years ago, and therefore increases its concentration in the atmosphere.
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Crude oil
A mineral oil consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons of natural origins, yellow to black in colour, of variable density and viscosity.
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DEFRA
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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DNO
Distribution Network Operator.
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DTI
Department of Trade and Industry.
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DUKES
Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics.
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EHCS
English House Condition Survey.
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EU-ETS
European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. This began on 1 January 2005 and involves the trading of emissions allowances as means of reducing emissions by a fixed amount.
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EUROSTAT
Statistical Office of the European Communities (SOEC).
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Final energy consumption
Energy consumption by final user, that which is not being used for transformation into other forms of energy.
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Fossil fuels
Coal, natural gas and fuels derived from crude oil (for example, petrol and diesel) are called fossil fuels because they have been formed over long periods of time from ancient organic matter.
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Fuel oil - Heavy
Heavy grade fuel oils, which in all situations require some form of pre-heating before being burned.
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Fuel oils
The heavy oils from the refining process; used as fuel in furnaces and boilers of power stations, industry, in domestic and industrial heating, ships, locomotives, metallurgic operations, and industrial power plants.
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Fuel poverty
The common definition of a fuel poor household is one needing to spend in excess of 10 per cent of household income to achieve a satisfactory heating regime (21 degrees Celsius in the living room and 18 degrees Celsius in the other occupied rooms).
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Gas Diesel Oil
The medium oil from the refinery process; used as a fuel in diesel engines (internal combustion engines that are compression-ignited), burned in central heating systems and used as a feedstock for the chemical industry.
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GDP
Gross Domestic Product.
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GDP deflator
An index of the ratio of GDP at current prices to GDP at constant prices. It provides a measure of general price inflation within the whole economy.
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Gigajoule (GJ)
A unit of energy equal to 1 billion joules.
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Gigawatt (GW)
A unit of electrical power, equal to 1 billion watts.
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HMRC
Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.
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Home Supplier
The original supplier in an area prior to the opening of the domestic energy market to competition. For gas, the home supplier is British Gas Trading. For electricity, the home supplier is the former public electricity suppliers within their own distribution area or that of their parent company.
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Indigenous production
For oil this includes production from the UK Continental Shelf both onshore and offshore.
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International Energy Agency (IEA)
The IEA is an autonomous body located in Paris which was established in November 1974 within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to implement an international energy programme.
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Joules
A joule is a generic unit of energy in the conventional SI system. It is equal to the energy dissipated by an electrical current of 1 ampere driven by 1 volt for 1 second; it is also equal to twice the energy of motion in a mass of 1 kilogram moving at 1 metre per second.
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Kilowatt (kW)
1,000 watts.
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LDZ
Local distribution zone.
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Lead Replacement Petrol (LRP)
An alternative to leaded petrol containing a different additive to lead (in the UK usually potassium based) to perform the lubrication functions of lead additives in reducing engine wear.
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Liquefied natural Gas (LNG)
Natural gas that has been converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport.
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Liquefied petroleum Gas (LPG)
Gas, usually propane or butane, derived from oil and put under pressure so that it is in liquid form. Often used to power portable cooking stoves or heaters and to fuel some types of vehicle, for example some specially adapted road vehicles, forklift trucks.
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Megawatt (MW)
1,000 kilowatts. MWe is used to emphasise when electricity is being measured. MWt is used when heat (‘thermal’) is being measured.
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Motor spirit
Blended light petroleum product used as a fuel in spark-ignition internal combustion engines (other than aircraft engines).
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Natural gas
Natural gas is a mixture of naturally occurring gases found either in isolation, or associated with crude oil, in underground reservoirs. The main component is methane; ethane, propane, butane, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide may also be present, but these are mostly removed at or near the well head in gas processing plants.
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Natural gas liquids (NGLs)
A mixture of liquids derived from natural gas and crude oil during the production process, including propane, butane, ethane and gasoline components (pentanes plus).
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Non-energy use
Includes fuel used for chemical feedstock, solvents, lubricants, and road making material.
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NSCP
National Statistics Code of Practice.
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OFGEM
The regulatory office for gas and electricity markets.
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ONS
Office for National Statistics.
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PES area
Public Electricity Supply area. The pre-market liberalisation electricity supply areas, which were supplied by individual companies.
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Petroleum cokes
Carbonaceous material derived from hydrocarbon oils, uses for which include metallurgical electrode manufacture and in the manufacture of cement.
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Propane
Hydrocarbon containing three carbon atoms, gaseous at normal temperature, but generally stored and transported under pressure as a liquid.
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RD
The Renewables Directive proposes that EU Member States adopt national targets that are consistent with the overall EU target of 12 per cent of energy (22.1 per cent of electricity) from renewables by 2010.
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Renewable energy sources
Renewable energy includes solar power, wind, wave and tide, and hydroelectricity. Solid renewable energy sources consist of wood, straw, short rotation coppice, other biomass and the biodegradable fraction of wastes. Gaseous renewables consist of landfill gas and sewage gas. Non-biodegradable wastes are not counted as renewable sources.
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RESTATS
The Renewable Energy Statistics System.
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RO
Renewables Obligation; an obligation on all electricity suppliers to supply a specific proportion of electricity from eligible, renewable sources.
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ROCs
Renewables Obligation Certificates.
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SI (Système International)
Refers to the agreed conventions for the measurement of physical quantities.
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SIC
Standard Industrial Classification in the UK. Last revised in 2003 and known as SIC(2003), replaced previous classifications SIC(92), SIC(80) and SIC(68). SIC(92) was compatible with EU classification NACE Rev1 is consistent with NACE Rev1.1, which came into effect in January 2003. Classification systems need to be periodically revised because over time new products, processes and industries emerge.
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Terawatt (TW)
1,000 gigawatts.
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Therm
A common unit of measurement similar to a tonne of oil equivalent that enables different fuels to be compared and aggregated.
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Tonne of oil equivalent (toe)
A common unit of measurement that enables different fuels to be compared and aggregated.
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TWh
Terawatt Hour
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UKCS
United Kingdom Continental Shelf.
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Ultra low sulphur Diesel (ULSD)
A grade of diesel fuel which has a much lower sulphur content (less than 0.005 per cent or 50 parts per million) and of a slightly higher volatility than ordinary diesel fuels. As a result, it produces fewer emissions when burned. As such, it enjoys a lower rate of excise duty in the UK than ordinary diesel (by three pence per litre) to promote its use. Virtually all of sales of DERV fuel in the UK are ULSD.
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Ultra low sulphur Petrol (ULSP)
A grade of motor spirit with a similar level of sulphur to ULSD (less than 0.005 per cent or 50 parts per million). In the March 2000 Budget it was announced that a lower rate of excise duty than ordinary petrol for this fuel would be introduced during 2000, which was increased to three pence per litre in the March 2001 Budget. It has quickly replaced ordinary premium grade unleaded petrol in the UK market place.
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VAT
Value Added Tax.
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Watt (W)
The conventional unit to measure a rate of flow of energy. One watt amounts to 1 joule per second.
Contact Details
For statistical enquiries about this topic, please contact:
Jo Marvin
Email: Jo.Marvin@decc.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 0300 068 5049
Department of Energy and Climate Change Energy Statistics Team 6th Floor - Area B 3 Whitehall Place London SW1A 2AW
