Home energy use

Home energy use in Highland

How much electricity and gas the typical home here uses, from meter readings for every home in Great Britain, and how that compares with everywhere else.

Verified: 23 October 2026 from DESNZ subnational consumption statistics
Where these figures come from
Electricity, median home
2,985 kWh
a year, 21% more than Great Britain
Gas, median home
10,304 kWh
a year, 5% more than Great Britain
At today’s price cap
£1,908
a year for the median home

The typical home in Highland used 2,985 kWh of electricity and 10,304 kWh of gas in 2024. Against the typical home across Great Britain, that is 21% more electricity and 5% more gas.

Of 350 local authority areas in Great Britain, Highland comes 15th for electricity use and 116th of 347 for gas, counting from the highest. These are medians: half the homes here use more and half use less. The mean is higher (4,275 kWh of electricity, 11,888 kWh of gas) because a minority of big users pulls an average up.

Only about 33% of homes in Highland have a mains gas meter, against about 84% across Great Britain. Homes off the gas grid heat with electricity, oil, LPG or solid fuel, which tends to push electricity use up.

22% of electricity meters here are on Economy 7 or a similar day and night meter, against 12% across Great Britain. That usually means electric storage heaters or a hot water cylinder heated overnight, and it is worth checking your night rate is the one you are using most.

What it costs

At the price cap for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026, a home using exactly the Highland medians would pay about £1,908 a year: £988 for electricity and £920 for gas, standing charges included. The same sum for the Great Britain medians comes to £1,745. These use the North Scotland region’s rates.

Highland is in the North Scotland electricity region. See every region’s rates on energy prices by region.

Your own use is on your bill or in your supplier’s app. Put it into the direct debit checker to see whether you are paying the right amount each month.

Over the last ten years

Since 2015, the typical home’s electricity use here has fallen 20% and its gas use has fallen 20%. The biggest drop came in 2022, the year of the energy price crisis, and use has stayed close to that lower level since.

Electricity, median kWh a year
2,0002,5003,0003,5004,00020152017201920212024HighlandGreat Britain
Gas, median kWh a year, weather-corrected
9,00010,00011,00012,00013,00014,00020152017201920212024HighlandGreat Britain

How does your home compare?

Areas with similar use

Median electricity / gas, nearest to Highland.

Elsewhere in Scotland

Common questions

How much electricity does a home in Highland use?
The median home used 2,985 kWh of electricity in 2024, against 2,471 kWh across Great Britain. The mean was higher, 4,275 kWh, because a minority of heavy users pulls an average up; the median is the household in the middle.
How much gas does a home in Highland use?
The median home with a gas meter used 10,304 kWh of gas in 2024, against 9,859 kWh across Great Britain. The figures are weather-corrected by DESNZ, so a cold winter doesn’t make one area look worse than another.
What does energy cost for a typical home in Highland?
At the price cap for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026, a home using the Highland medians would pay about £1,908 a year, standing charges included. Your own bill depends on your own use, which is on your bill or in your supplier’s app.

Figures for Highland (S12000017) from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s electricity and gas consumption statistics, published 18 December 2025, covering 142,072 domestic electricity meters and 46,762 gas meters. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.