Find Out If You're Paying Too Much for Transmission Charges

Many businesses pay more for transmission charges than they need to. Not because their bill is wrong - but because they're in a higher charge band than necessary. Our new band optimisation feature spots these opportunities automatically.

The Band Problem

Here's how transmission charges work: every business has a Maximum Import Capacity (MIC) - the maximum power your connection can draw from the grid. This number determines which charge band you fall into.

There are four bands at each voltage level (Low Voltage, High Voltage, Extra High Voltage). The higher your MIC, the higher your band, and the more you pay in daily Transmission Demand Residual (TDR) charges.

Here's the catch: many businesses have a higher MIC than they actually need. Maybe it was set years ago when the site had different equipment. Maybe it was set conservatively "just in case". Either way, you're paying for capacity you're not using.

What We've Built

When you run a TNUoS calculation in EnergyCode v1.3, we now automatically check if your MIC could be reduced to drop you into a lower band. If there's an opportunity, you'll see:

• Your current band and daily charge rate
• The optimal band you could move to
• How much you'd need to reduce your MIC by
• Your potential annual savings (under both current RIIO-2 and future RIIO-3 rates)

No extra clicks, no separate analysis tool - it just shows up when there's a potential saving to be found.

Why This Matters Right Now

Transmission charges are about to get a lot more expensive. From April 2026, the RIIO-3 price control period begins, and TDR rates are nearly doubling across all bands.

If you're in Band 3 when you could be in Band 2, that mistake is about to cost you twice as much. Now's the time to check.

"A Low Voltage site in Band 2 pays around £2,400/year in TDR charges under current RIIO-2 rates. Under RIIO-3, that jumps to over £4,200/year - a 78% increase. Dropping to Band 1 would save over £2,100 annually."

How to Use It

Just run a TNUoS calculation as normal. If your MIC puts you close to a band threshold, we'll show the optimisation analysis automatically. You'll see exactly what reducing your MIC would save you.

Whether it's worth pursuing depends on your situation - sometimes reducing MIC requires infrastructure changes, sometimes it's just paperwork with your DNO. But at least now you know the opportunity exists.

Other Improvements in v1.3

We've also made the calculator smarter and simpler:

• Automatic voltage detection - We now detect your voltage level from your MPAN's LLFC code, so you don't need to select it manually
• Streamlined interface - Cleaner layout, faster loading, fewer clicks to get results
• Better error messages - If something's wrong with your MPAN or data, we'll explain what needs fixing

What to Do Next

If our band optimisation analysis flags a potential saving for your site:

• Check your actual maximum demand over the past 12 months - are you using anywhere near your MIC?
• Contact your DNO to discuss reducing your agreed capacity
• Factor in any costs for meter changes or infrastructure adjustments
• Compare the reduction cost against the annual saving

Not every optimisation opportunity will be worth pursuing, but you should at least know they exist.

Built From Broker Feedback

This feature exists because a broker asked for it. They were manually checking band thresholds for clients and suggested we automate it. So we did.

EnergyCode is in beta and completely free while we're building it out. If you're an energy broker, consultant, or facilities manager, we'd genuinely like to hear from you. Found a bug? Got an idea for a feature? Something not quite right? Get in touch - we're building this for people like you, and your feedback shapes what we work on next.