Climate change levy + VAT on entire usage rather than above 145kwh/day threshold

[KievLoverTwo]

Hello, I wonder if any small business owners can help me please - googling is going nowhere. I'm stuck on a business rate with Octopus (in my rental house, from which I do not run a business - it's boring and complicated so I won't bother), which I'm in the process of sorting out of getting rid of and back onto normal domestic rates.

Every now and then, they'll figure I've used an excessive amount of energy and apply a CCL + 20% to the entire gas portion of the energy bill. I guess I've got a bugbear with this company so I'd really like to know if they're following the correct procedure for businesses and the CCL. Here's a recent illustration (our house is old and has bad UFH, so our usage is high in winter).

25/12/25 to 26/01/26 (31 days)

4552.34 kwh

That's 146.84 kwh a day.

What Octopus say:

De Minimis Thresholds (Automatic Exemption)
If your business energy consumption falls below these limits, Octopus will treat your usage as "domestic" and you will not be charged the CCL:
Electricity: Less than 33 kWh per day or 1,000 kWh per month.
Gas: Less than 145 kWh per day or 4,397 kWh per month

Now, I haven't received the bill yet, but from previous bills know they've applied CCL + 20% VAT to:

The entirety of those KwHs

And 20% VAT to:

31 days of gas standing charges

Because they've done it before.

Surely, the way it should work is:

145kwh per day at normal rate
1.84kwh per day attracts the CCL + 20% VAT

The SC is charged the normal rate, and attracts 5% VAT.

Help me to understand this nonsense, please!

To add insult to injury, I just downloaded a spreadsheet from 'my energy insights" on their online thingy and it's averaging 136kwh a day, not the one I quoted above that is going to appear on my bill - sigh.

Thank you :)

You need to look up the regulations, it won’t be up to octopus whether to charge you on the full usage or just the excess.
I can’t reply and not comment that how can you possibly be using that much daily??
You’re certain it’s right? (because they rated you as a business due to the cannabis factory in the basement??)

I've tried! Many sources will tell you that you get charged CCL if your usage is over x KwH, but I can't find anywhere that tells you if you should be paying CCL only over x KwH, or for the whole lot. I've spent hours looking.

The market seems to be saturated with firms offering to get you eco deals that will get you money off the CCL, so googling is far from easy.

I'm afraid the usage is, in fact spot on. I watch it like a hawk all year round. I can't tell you how poorly the house and heating system is designed without getting myself into a rage, so, I just shan't. There was one day over the last month when it got to 200kwh.

Let's just not go there!

I wish I had room for one of those, I'd be a lot more chilled out about the horrific energy costs, for starters.