Home energy use

Home energy use in Reading

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
2,534 kWh
a year, 3% more than Great Britain
Gas, median home
10,096 kWh
a year, 2% more than Great Britain
At today’s price cap
£1,777
a year for the median home

The typical home in Reading used 2,534 kWh of electricity and 10,096 kWh of gas in 2024. Against the typical home across Great Britain, that is 3% more electricity and 2% more gas.

Of 350 local authority areas in Great Britain, Reading comes 156th for electricity use and 146th 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 (3,382 kWh of electricity, 11,617 kWh of gas) because a minority of big users pulls an average up.

What it costs

At the price cap for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026, a home using exactly the Reading medians would pay about £1,777 a year: £845 for electricity and £931 for gas, standing charges included. The same sum for the Great Britain medians comes to £1,745. These use the Southern England region’s rates.

Reading is in the Southern England 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 13%.

Electricity, median kWh a year
2,4002,6002,8003,0003,2003,40020152017201920212024ReadingGreat Britain
Gas, median kWh a year, weather-corrected
9,00010,00011,00012,00013,00020152017201920212024ReadingGreat Britain

How does your home compare?

Areas with similar use

Median electricity / gas, nearest to Reading.

Elsewhere in South East

Common questions

How much electricity does a home in Reading use?
The median home used 2,534 kWh of electricity in 2024, against 2,471 kWh across Great Britain. The mean was higher, 3,382 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 Reading use?
The median home with a gas meter used 10,096 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 Reading?
At the price cap for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026, a home using the Reading medians would pay about £1,777 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 Reading (E06000038) from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s electricity and gas consumption statistics, published 18 December 2025, covering 73,230 domestic electricity meters and 59,138 gas meters. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.