Load factor explained — the number that quietly sets your rate
Why two businesses using the same kWh can pay different prices, and how to find out which band you are in.
2 min read · Updated Sep 9, 2026
When suppliers price a commercial account they care about two things: how much energy you use, and how steadily you use it. The second is called load factor, and it can move a matrix price by more than a cent per kilowatt-hour.
The definition
Load factor is your average demand divided by your peak demand over a billing period. A simpler way to calculate it from a bill:
load factor = monthly kWh ÷ (peak kW × hours in the month)
A data centre running flat out all month might score 0.9. A church that fills up on Sunday morning and sits empty otherwise might score 0.15.
The bands suppliers use
Both ENGIE and NRG price in three bands, and their thresholds are effectively identical:
| Band | Load factor | Typical premises |
|---|---|---|
| High | 0.60 and above | 24-hour operations, cold storage, hotels, manufacturing with steady shifts |
| Medium | 0.40 – 0.59 | Offices, retail with long hours, restaurants, schools |
| Low | below 0.40 | Places of worship, seasonal sites, warehouses with short shifts |
Steady load is cheaper to serve — the supplier can hedge it more precisely in the wholesale market — so high load factor gets the lowest rate.
Finding yours
Your bill almost always prints peak demand (kW) and the period's kWh. If you upload a bill on the rates page we read both and calculate the band for you. If you enter figures manually and leave demand blank, we assume medium — the safe middle — and you can correct it.
If no bill or demand history is available, suppliers assume low load factor for the contract, which is why the enrollment form asks for a bill copy: it can only make your price better.
Can you improve it?
Sometimes. Load factor rewards flattening peaks rather than cutting total usage: staggering start-up of large equipment, shifting a batch process to overnight, or trimming a single daily spike can lift a site from low to medium. The change shows up in the next contract's pricing, not the current one.