Headline evidence · Energy & bills · Great Britain · Ofgem price cap, dual fuel, direct debit · Oct–Dec 2026

A year of typical energy use costs £1,723, £744 more than in 2021.

A year of typical energy use costs £1,723, which is £744 more than in 2021. After inflation it is roughly a third more. Electricity has no VAT from October 2026 to March 2027.

Proposed outcome: Compare ways to lower energy costs for homes and businesses. What could change →

Geography: Great Britain, dual fuel, direct debit
Evidence period: Apr–Sep 2021 vs Oct–Dec 2026
Evidence status: Site calculation from published data
Editorial review: Reviewed 21 October 2026

The short version

Three key measures

How much more does typical use cost than in 2021?
+£744a year, in cash
A year of typical energy use costs £744 more than in 2021. This is not a maximum bill: use more and you pay more.
Great Britain, dual fuel, direct debit · Apr–Sep 2021 vs Oct–Dec 2026 · Site calculation from published data
Definition, limits and source: How much more does typical use cost than in 2021?
£979 a year at Apr–Sep 2021 cap rates — Ofgem’s like-for-like recalculation at today’s typical consumption, not the cap figure published in 2021 — and £1,723 at Oct–Dec 2026 rates, for the same typical consumption (2,500 kWh electricity, 9,500 kWh gas a year). Cash terms, not adjusted for inflation; up from £1,663 in Jul–Sep 2026. A benchmark — not a maximum bill, and not anyone’s actual bill.
Site calculation from published data · Ofgem, Energy price cap (default tariff) levels — Annex 9, levelised cap levels, sheet 1c 'Consumption adjusted levels', Other Payment Method (direct debit)
Try it with your own usage →
After inflation, is energy still dearer than before the crisis?
+35%after inflation
Energy remained dearer even after allowing for other price rises. This comparison ends in the same period as the cash figure.
Great Britain cap; UK CPI · Apr–Sep 2021 vs Oct–Dec 2026
Definition, limits and source: After inflation, is energy still dearer than before the crisis?
The cap at typical use in Oct–Dec 2026 was £1,723 in Sep 2026 prices (the latest month with published consumer prices), against £1,281 for Apr–Sep 2021 in the same prices. Same consumption basis and the same end period as the cash comparison; CPI-adjusted by UK Facts. From 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 there is no VAT on electricity (Ofgem put this at about £45 a year at typical use), which lowers both the cash and the real-terms figures for those months.
Site calculation from published data · ONS, Consumer price inflation (MM23), series D7BT (all items), D7DT (electricity), D7DU (gas)
Bills since 2019, cash and real →
Survey-based evidence
DESNZ Public Attitudes TrackerFieldwork: Spring 2026UK adults 16+, 3,380 in spring 2026. Estimates have sampling uncertainty (about 1 point).
How many adults have gone without heating because of energy bills?
22%of adults cut heating
About one adult in five said they had cut heating or power to an uncomfortable level because of energy bills. One in twenty had also skipped meals.
United Kingdom, adults 16+ · Spring 2026
Definition, limits and source: How many adults have gone without heating because of energy bills?
22% of UK adults said in spring 2026 that they had cut electricity or heating to an uncomfortable level in recent months because of the cost of their energy bills; 10% had skipped meals and 5% had done both. It records what people did, not a choice between the two.
Survey-based · DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker, 2021-2026, COSTACTIONS02 and COSTACTIONS05
Food banks and food insecurity →

Who feels this most?

The same rates land very differently. Standing charges of £308 a year are a bigger share of a small bill, and a poorly insulated home needs more kWh for the same warmth. In England, 9.4% of households — 2.36 million — were estimated to be fuel poor in 2025, with an average gap of £379 between their energy costs and what would take them out of fuel poverty.

Budget 2026 · 28 October 2026

What the Budget means for energy

Budget measures on this topic

£3.3bn

Net cost, 2026–27

£705m

Net cost, 2029–30

Biggest single-year effect of each measure · red costs money, teal saves or raises it

Household Energy Payment2026–27−£2.6bn−£2.6bn
Industrial Electricity2027–28−£1.2bn−£1.2bn
Support for Energy Bills2026–27−£755m−£755m
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)2029–30−£490m−£490m
Carbon Price Support (CPS)2028–29−£165m−£165m
Electricity Generator Levy2026–27+£60m+£60m

−£2.6bn
cost in 2026–27
Household Energy Payment
Every year →Track it →Find your band →
−£1.2bn
cost in 2027–28
Industrial Electricity
Every year →
−£755m
cost in 2026–27
Support for Energy Bills
Every year →Track it →

All 9 measures on this topic

−£490m
cost in 2029–30
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
Every year →
−£165m
cost in 2028–29
Carbon Price Support (CPS)
Every year →
+£60m
saving or gain in 2026–27
Electricity Generator Levy
Every year →
−£50m
cost in 2027–28
EV Charging
Every year →
−£25m
cost in 2028–29
Climate Change Levy
Every year →
−£15m
cost in 2027–28
Business Rates
Every year →

The Budget in 2 minutes →Is it being delivered? →

Treasury costings certified by the OBR, not measured results. Topic links are UK Facts’ classification.

The evidence

Living-cost concern is context for energy affordability, not an energy-specific satisfaction measure or support for a particular policy.

Going cold, skipping meals

Survey-based evidence

DESNZ Public Attitudes TrackerFieldwork: Spring 2026UK adults 16+ (3,380 in spring 2026). Asked which actions they had taken in recent months because of the cost of their energy bills. Estimates have sampling uncertainty (about 1 point).

In spring 2026, about one adult in five (22%) said they had cut electricity or heating to an uncomfortable level because of the cost of their energy bills. About one in ten (10%) had skipped meals, and one in twenty (5%) had done both. The survey records actions, not a choice between heat and food, so we do not describe it as people “choosing”. The share who cut heating was 27% in spring 2023; the wording of the question changed slightly in 2026.

Share of adults taking each action because of energy-bill costs, Spring 2026 and Spring 2023.

Cut heating, Spring 202622% of adults
Cut heating, Spring 202327% of adults
Skipped meals, Spring 202610% of adults
Skipped meals, Spring 202311% of adults
Both, Spring 20265% of adults
Both, Spring 20237% of adults

Food banks, food insecurity and what could reduce them →

DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker, 2021-2026, UK Data Service study 9568. Actions the respondent links to the cost of energy bills; not a general food-insecurity measure. The wave 16 question stem omits the words "the increase in".

How do UK energy prices compare abroad?

For big industrial users the UK pays the most of 15 European countries for electricity: more than twice the middle price. UK household gas, by contrast, is among the cheapest of those countries. We could not build a like-for-like comparison with the US, Japan, Canada or China: the official UK tables that once covered them were withdrawn under licence terms, so we do not say the UK is the highest in the G7.

Large industrial users

20,000 to 69,999 MWh a year

United Kingdom23.4p
Ireland17.2p
Germany13.9p
Median of 14 EU countries plus UK10.2p
France7.4p
Finland4.4p

UK is 130% above the median.

Very large industrial users

70,000 to 150,000 MWh a year

United Kingdom21.8p
Ireland15.0p
Germany12.5p
Median of 14 EU countries plus UK10.5p
France6.2p
Finland3.7p

UK is 108% above the median.

Pence per kWh including taxes and charges for environmental and social policies, excluding VAT, Jul – Dec, 2025 (DESNZ, from Eurostat; sterling at the exchange rate when published). These are bands for big industrial users, not a data-centre tariff, and there is no like-for-like US figure. Price is one constraint; grid connection dates of several years are another, and the evidence does not show that any particular data centre was not built because of price.

Source: DESNZ, Quarterly Energy Prices, table 5.4 (Eurostat). The US publishes its own prices in cents per kWh on different customer definitions, which cannot be converted fairly to these bands. This matters for AI and data centres: see Technology.

Where the electricity comes from

In 1996 coal supplied more than two-fifths of UK electricity and nuclear more than a quarter. In 2025 coal had almost gone, wind and solar supplied more than a third, gas about a third and nuclear about an eighth. The carbon in each unit of electricity supplied fell from 521 grams to 147 grams of CO₂ per kWh. Nuclear output has fallen by well over half as stations closed.

Coal
Gas
Nuclear
Wind
Solar
Bioenergy and hydro

View the figures as a table

TWh generated in the UK. Oil and other small fuels are not shown.
Year	Coal	Gas	Nuclear	Wind	Solar	Bioenergy and hydro
1996	145.2	84.1	94.7	0.5	0.0	5.6
1997	119.7	111.0	98.1	0.7	0.0	6.8
1998	123.0	117.8	99.5	0.9	0.0	8.4
1999	106.2	142.9	95.1	0.8	0.0	9.3
2000	120.0	148.1	85.1	0.9	0.0	9.4
2001	131.5	141.9	90.1	1.0	0.0	9.1
2002	124.3	152.3	87.8	1.3	0.0	10.4
2003	138.3	148.9	88.7	1.3	0.0	9.9
2004	131.8	157.1	80.0	1.9	0.0	12.8
2005	134.6	152.6	81.6	2.9	0.0	14.6
2006	148.8	140.8	75.5	4.2	0.0	14.5
2007	135.9	165.8	63.0	5.3	0.0	14.4
2008	124.4	176.2	52.5	7.1	0.0	14.7
2009	103.0	166.5	69.1	9.3	0.0	15.9
2010	107.6	175.7	62.1	10.3	0.0	15.9
2011	108.4	146.5	69.0	16.0	0.2	19.0
2012	142.8	100.2	70.4	19.8	1.4	20.0
2013	130.3	95.8	70.6	28.4	2.0	22.8
2014	100.2	100.9	63.7	32.0	4.1	28.5
2015	75.9	99.9	70.3	40.3	7.5	35.6
2016	30.7	143.4	71.7	37.2	10.4	35.4
2017	22.5	136.7	70.3	49.6	11.5	37.8
2018	16.8	131.5	65.1	56.9	12.7	40.5
2019	6.9	133.1	56.2	63.8	12.4	43.5
2020	5.7	111.9	50.2	75.6	12.5	45.4
2021	6.8	122.8	46.1	64.9	12.1	45.4
2022	5.9	125.8	47.4	80.2	14.0	41.0
2023	3.7	101.7	40.6	82.8	14.9	39.7
2024	2.0	87.4	40.6	83.6	15.0	45.9
2025	0.0	93.2	35.9	86.4	20.1	46.4

Source: DESNZ, Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2026, chapter 5. Nuclear output is 62% lower than in 1996, as stations closed. Generation is not the same as the electricity supplied: the UK also imports power.

The UK mix against the G7

France relies on nuclear and Canada on hydro. The UK’s electricity is 64% low carbon, behind France and Canada and ahead of Germany, Italy, the US and Japan. Cheap, clean power and cheap power are not the same thing: prices also reflect gas, networks and policy charges.

France95% low carbon
Canada76% low carbon
United Kingdom64% low carbon
Germany58% low carbon
Italy49% low carbon
United States43% low carbon
Japan33% low carbon

Coal
Gas
Other fossil
Nuclear
Wind and solar
Hydro, bioenergy and other

Share of each country’s electricity generation, 2025 (Ember yearly electricity data). Low carbon is everything except coal, gas and other fossil fuels. Electricity is a part of energy use: heating and transport still rely heavily on gas and oil. China is not in the data set held here.

Energy cost and the technology gap

AI and data centres need a great deal of reliable, affordable power. High industrial electricity prices and grid connection dates running to several years are both cited as barriers to building them in Britain, and the government has offered AI Growth Zones a discount of £14 to £24 per MWh from April 2027, subject to legislation. The evidence shows the constraint; it does not show how many projects it has stopped. Compute and the price of power, on the Technology page →

Annual data: Electricity prices and general inflation over 30 years

The 1996–2026 window shows published annual indices through 2025; no complete 2026 annual value is available. The Energy Price Guarantee reduced measured prices in 2022–23; the separate £400 support payment did not. The price cap began in 2019 and has no 1996 baseline. A dash means no comparable observation is supplied; it is not zero. United Kingdom consumer prices across tariffs and payment methods. These are price indices, not household bills or the Great Britain default-tariff cap.

Historical window

1996–2026; Annual CPI index, 2015 = 100. No change is calculated across definition or assessment breaks.

Electricity prices and general inflation over 30 years; Annual CPI index, 2015 = 100
Year	Electricity	All items
1996	48.7	68.8
1997	46.3	70.1
1998	44.2	71.2
1999	43.7	72.1
2000	42.8	72.7
2001	42.4	73.6
2002	42.6	74.5
2003	43	75.5
2004	45.6	76.5
2005	50.4	78.1
2006	61.4	79.9
2007	66.3	81.8
2008	76.6	84.7
2009	80.1	86.6
2010	78.1	89.4
2011	83.8	93.4
2012	88.5	96.1
2013	95.1	98.5
2014	100.3	100
2015	100	100
2016	99.8	100.7
2017	106.5	103.4
2018	115.7	105.9
2019	124.1	107.8
2020	124.3	108.7
2021	132.5	111.6
2022	197.5	121.7
2023	224.6	130.5
2024	190.5	133.9
2025	192.8	138.4
2026	No comparable observations supplied

What households pay now

The cap sets a maximum price for each kilowatt-hour and a maximum daily standing charge on default tariffs. Ofgem’s headline £1,723 is those rates applied to 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas — Ofgem’s typical use since July 2026. In Ofgem’s words, the cap sets “maximum prices, not maximum bills”. Change the usage below and the bill moves while the rates do not.

What would a year of energy cost at the capped rates?

The cap limits rates, not your total bill

Great Britain average (England, Scotland, Wales); not Northern Ireland · Jan–Mar 2019 to Oct–Dec 2026

Cap periodGB average, direct debit

Electricity a year (kWh)Typical: 2,500 kWh · 26.32p per kWh

Gas a year (kWh)Typical: 9,500 kWh · 7.97p per kWh

Home has a mains gas supply

Annual cost at these rates

£1,723 a year

The arithmetic

Electricity: 2,500 kWh × 26.32p = £658

Gas: 9,500 kWh × 7.97p = £757

Standing charges: (54.83p + 29.68p) × 365 days = £308

Total: £1,723 a year (rounded to the nearest pound, including VAT)

The cap limits prices per unit, not your total bill. You pay more when you use more, plus a daily standing charge. Prices also vary by region.

Great Britain average (England, Scotland, Wales); not Northern Ireland · Jan–Mar 2019 to Oct–Dec 2026 · Official cap rates; the annual cost is an illustration, not a supplier quote

Show the workings

Annual cost = standing charges × 365 days + unit rate × kWh used, at Ofgem’s direct-debit cap rates for the chosen period. Starts at Ofgem’s typical consumption: 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year.

Double the electricity you use and the unit-rate part of the bill doubles, though the capped rate has not changed. The standing charges — £308 a year for a dual-fuel home on direct debit — are paid however little you use. That is why the cap’s headline figure describes no particular household: it is the cap’s rates applied to one assumed level of use. The main limit is geography: these are GB averages, and the rates in your region differ.

Geography:: Great Britain average (England, Scotland, Wales); not Northern Ireland — Default (standard variable) tariffs, paid by direct debit, single-rate electricity meter
Measure:: £ a year, including VAT; rates in pence per kWh and pence per day
Period:: Jan–Mar 2019 to Oct–Dec 2026
Status:: Official cap rates; the annual cost is an illustration, not a supplier quote
Calculation:: Unit rates and standing charges are derived exactly from Ofgem’s published nil- and typical-consumption cap levels (level = standing charge × 365 + unit rate × kWh); they reproduce Ofgem’s quoted rates to the penny. The annual cost is that formula applied to the usage you enter.
Compare with:: The same rates at Ofgem’s typical consumption: £1,723 a year for Oct–Dec 2026
Not included / breaks:: Regional rates differ from the GB average, and prepayment and standard-credit caps are set at different levels; neither is held here yet. Fixed tariffs and Economy 7 meters are outside this cap. From October 2022 to June 2023 households were charged lower Energy Price Guarantee rates, and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount is not deducted.

Source: Ofgem, Energy price cap (default tariff) levels — Annex 9, levelised cap levels, sheet 1c 'Consumption adjusted levels', Other Payment Method (direct debit) (released 26 August 2026).

View the data as a table

Cap period	Electricity p/kWh	Electricity p/day	Gas p/kWh	Gas p/day	At 2,500/9,500 kWh, £/yr
Jan–Mar 2019	16.52	22.77	3.73	25.82	945
Apr–Sep 2019	18.56	23.42	4.14	26.52	1039
Oct 2019–Mar 2020	17.85	23.51	3.68	26.71	979
Apr–Sep 2020	17.81	24.38	3.50	27.35	967
Oct 2020–Mar 2021	17.19	24.38	3.00	26.07	899
Apr–Sep 2021	18.95	24.89	3.34	26.60	979
Oct 2021–Mar 2022	20.80	24.88	4.07	26.12	1093
Apr–Sep 2022	28.34	45.34	7.37	27.22	1673
Oct–Dec 2022 (EPG applied)	51.89	46.36	14.76	28.48	2972
Jan–Mar 2023 (EPG applied)	67.47	46.36	17.08	28.48	3582
Apr–Jun 2023 (EPG applied)	50.60	52.97	12.61	29.11	2762
Jul–Sep 2023	30.11	52.97	7.51	29.11	1766
Oct–Dec 2023	27.35	53.37	6.89	29.62	1641
Jan–Mar 2024	28.62	53.35	7.42	29.60	1723
Apr–Jun 2024	24.50	60.10	6.04	31.43	1520
Jul–Sep 2024	22.36	60.12	5.48	31.41	1414
Oct–Dec 2024	24.50	60.99	6.24	31.66	1543
Jan–Mar 2025	24.86	60.97	6.34	31.65	1561
Apr–Jun 2025	27.03	53.80	6.99	32.67	1655
Jul–Sep 2025	25.73	51.37	6.33	29.82	1541
Oct–Dec 2025	26.35	53.68	6.29	34.03	1576
Jan–Mar 2026	27.69	54.75	5.93	35.09	1584
Apr–Jun 2026	24.67	57.21	5.74	29.09	1477
Jul–Sep 2026	26.11	57.19	7.33	29.04	1663
Oct–Dec 2026	26.32	54.83	7.97	29.68	1723

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

What happens to the cap next?

The cap for October to December 2026 is confirmed: £1,723 a year at Ofgem’s typical use in Great Britain. The level for January to March 2027 has not been set. Ofgem will announce it by 25 November 2026; until then its size is not known.

A source behind this section is overdue or failed its latest check. The figures shown are the last ones verified, with their original dates.

Now: October to December 2026
Confirmed
£1,723 a year
A limit on unit rates and standing charges, shown as a year’s bill at typical use. Use more and you pay more.
Great Britain · Direct Debit · 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year · Ofgem, Annex 9, announced 26 August 2026
Change from July to September 2026
Confirmed
+£60 a year
Not a like-for-like price change: there is no VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, so the two periods are taxed differently. Before VAT the cap rose from £1,584 to £1,682 (+6.2%). Ofgem says costs cannot be compared directly.
Same payment method and typical use in both periods · +3.6% · about £5 a month if spread evenly over a year
Next: January to March 2027
Expected date
Not yet announced
UK Facts shows a cap level only once Ofgem has confirmed it.
Announcement due by 25 November 2026 · Ofgem’s published dates · Ofgem may publish earlier

Why it could move. Wholesale energy is the largest part of the cap, and Ofgem takes wholesale prices into account each quarter (Ofgem). It sets each level about five weeks before the period starts (26 August 2026 for October to December 2026). Where a bill goes shows the wholesale share. Until Ofgem announces a level, any figure for it is a forecast.

Independent forecasts. Analysts publish their own estimates of the next cap; Cornwall Insight published one on 30 September 2026. UK Facts does not have permission to republish its figures, so none appears here. That is a rights position, not a missing forecast.

Household costs outlook: energy, food, pay and borrowing together →

Insulation needs verified installation and repairs

The 2025 ECO4/GBIS audit estimated major or Category 1 defects in 98% of external-wall installations (95% interval 96–99%) and 29% of internal-wall installations (25–34%). These estimates concern the schemes’ previously unaudited installations, not all insulated homes.

Audit method and delivery status

Chartered surveyors inspected random samples of 378 external and 380 internal installations from populations of 24,600 and 36,100. Around 3,800 households were contacted; nonresponse and replacement sampling matter. DESNZ/Ofgem results and method.

ECO4 was extended to 31 December 2026 for existing obligations and remediation; GBIS ended on 31 March 2026. This is additional time, not evidence that repairs are complete. Government response.

Has the energy shock passed?

The energy shock eased, but the comparable bill remains above its earlier level

Great Britain average · Jan–Mar 2019 to Oct–Dec 2026

1996–2026 · recorded figures. Shading marks years without figures: this series starts in 2019.

Energy costs have fallen from their peak but remain well above 2021. Government support reduced what households paid during the peak. The inflation-adjusted comparison covers the same period as the cash comparison.

Great Britain average · Jan–Mar 2019 to Oct–Dec 2026 · Official statistics; latest period provisional

Show the workings

Ofgem’s cap for a dual-fuel direct-debit household, restated by Ofgem for every period at one consumption (2,500 kWh electricity, 9,500 kWh gas), £ a year in cash terms. Each step is one cap period.

On a like-for-like basis the cap rose from £979 in Apr–Sep 2021 to a peak of £3,582 in Jan–Mar 2023, then fell back. It has not returned: at £1,723 it is 76% above the 2021 level in cash terms. During the peak, the government’s price guarantee held what households were actually charged well below the cap. The figures above are cash amounts through Oct–Dec 2026. The inflation-adjusted comparison ends in the same period, Oct–Dec 2026: about 35% above Apr–Sep 2021, in Sep 2026 prices (the latest month with published consumer prices).

Geography:: Great Britain average — Default tariffs, direct debit
Measure:: £ a year, cash (nominal), including VAT
Period:: Jan–Mar 2019 to Oct–Dec 2026
Status:: Official statistics; latest period provisional
Calculation:: As published by Ofgem on its latest consumption basis; drawn as steps because the cap is fixed within each period (six-monthly to September 2022, quarterly since).
Compare with:: Apr–Sep 2021, before wholesale gas prices surged: £979
Not included / breaks:: Cash terms — see the real-terms chart on the bill history page. The shaded period is when the Energy Price Guarantee set lower prices than the cap, so households did not pay the cap. The £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount (October 2022–March 2023) is not deducted. These comparable figures differ from the ones Ofgem announced at the time, which used older, higher consumption assumptions (both are in the table).

Source: Ofgem, Energy price cap (default tariff) levels — Annex 9, levelised cap levels, sheet 1c 'Consumption adjusted levels', Other Payment Method (direct debit) (released 26 August 2026).

View the data as a table

Cap period	Comparable basis, £/yr	As announced at the time, £/yr
Jan–Mar 2019	945	1137
Apr–Sep 2019	1039	1254
Oct 2019–Mar 2020	979	1179
Apr–Sep 2020	967	1126
Oct 2020–Mar 2021	899	1042
Apr–Sep 2021	979	1138
Oct 2021–Mar 2022	1093	1277
Apr–Sep 2022	1673	1971
Oct–Dec 2022	2972	3549
Jan–Mar 2023	3582	4279
Apr–Jun 2023	2762	3280
Jul–Sep 2023	1766	2074
Oct–Dec 2023	1641	1834
Jan–Mar 2024	1723	1928
Apr–Jun 2024	1520	1690
Jul–Sep 2024	1414	1568
Oct–Dec 2024	1543	1717
Jan–Mar 2025	1561	1738
Apr–Jun 2025	1655	1849
Jul–Sep 2025	1541	1720
Oct–Dec 2025	1576	1755
Jan–Mar 2026	1584	1758
Apr–Jun 2026	1477	1641
Jul–Sep 2026	1663	1663
Oct–Dec 2026	1723	1723

Where a bill goes

Where does a capped bill go?

Wholesale energy is 45% of the typical capped bill; networks 24%

Great Britain average · Oct–Dec 2026

Wholesale energy£774 (45%)
Networks£417 (24%)
Supplier operating costs£204 (12%)
Policy costs£96 (6%)
Bad debt£52 (3%)
Supplier profit allowance£46 (3%)
VAT£41 (2%)
Capacity Market£38 (2%)
Industry charges£35 (2%)
Headroom£18 (1%)
Levelisation£8 (0%)
Smart meter roll-out (net)−£7 (a saving, not drawn)

Buying energy and maintaining the networks make up most of the capped bill. Moving costs from bills to tax changes who pays; it does not make the costs disappear.

Great Britain average · Oct–Dec 2026 · Official allowances, not audited costs

Show the workings

The cost allowances Ofgem uses to build the cap for Oct–Dec 2026, dual fuel at typical consumption, direct debit, £ a year.

Two parts dominate: buying the energy, and the networks that carry it. Wholesale energy is the part that moved most in the crisis and still moves with international gas prices. Network costs are set by Ofgem’s price controls for the wires and pipes and change more slowly; on this basis they have roughly doubled since 2019. Policy costs fell in April 2026 when the government moved most Renewables Obligation costs to taxation and removed ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme allowances from domestic tariffs. Existing ECO4 delivery and remediation obligations continue to 31 December 2026. Read these as allowances, not as audited spending.

Geography:: Great Britain average — Default tariffs, direct debit, typical consumption
Measure:: £ a year, cash; components excluding VAT, with VAT shown separately
Period:: Oct–Dec 2026
Status:: Official allowances, not audited costs
Calculation:: As published by Ofgem (each component line of sheet 1c). Components sum to £1,723 against the published total of £1,723; any difference is rounding in Ofgem’s tables.
Compare with:: Total cap at typical use, £1,723
Not included / breaks:: These are what Ofgem allows an efficient supplier to recover, not a record of where any company’s money went. VAT on electricity is 0% from 1 October 2026, so the VAT line is smaller than in earlier periods.

Source: Ofgem, Energy price cap (default tariff) levels — Annex 9, levelised cap levels, sheet 1c 'Consumption adjusted levels', Other Payment Method (direct debit) (released 26 August 2026).

View the data as a table

Component	£ a year	Share of total	What it pays for
Wholesale energy	773.98	44.9%	Buying gas and electricity on the wholesale market, including hedging.
Networks	417.34	24.2%	Building, running and paying a regulated return on the transmission and distribution wires and pipes.
Supplier operating costs	203.94	11.8%	Billing, customer service, metering and other running costs.
Policy costs	96.39	5.6%	Government schemes funded through bills, such as the Renewables Obligation, feed-in tariffs and the Warm Home Discount.
Bad debt	51.79	3.0%	Allowance for unpaid bills and the cost of collecting debt.
Supplier profit allowance	45.72	2.7%	Earnings before interest and tax that Ofgem allows an efficient supplier — an allowance, not a measured profit.
Capacity Market	38.44	2.2%	Payments to keep enough power stations and storage available for peak demand.
Industry charges	35.29	2.0%	Charges for industry bodies and systems.
Headroom	18.13	1.1%	A margin for uncertainty in Ofgem’s estimates.
Levelisation	8.05	0.5%	Redistribution that evens out standing charges between payment methods.
Smart meter roll-out (net)	-6.93	-0.4%	Net change in supplier costs from the smart meter roll-out; can be negative.
VAT	41.20	2.4%	Value added tax on domestic energy.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Gas, generation, networks and policy costs

Gas prices influence electricity prices too. Network charges pay for the wires and pipes. Some policy costs moved from bills to taxation in April 2026.

Where each part of the bill goes

Wholesale energy (£774) follows the international gas price. Gas plants made under half of the UK’s electricity in 2021 but set the wholesale power price almost all of the time, so a gas shock raises electricity prices too. Networks (£417, up from £209 in Jan–Mar 2019) pay for the wires and pipes under Ofgem’s price controls. Policy costs fell to £96 in April 2026 when most Renewables Obligation costs moved to taxation. How each part has changed since 2019.

Who owns which part of the system?

Part of the system	Share of the typical bill	How it is organised
Generation and wholesale energy	£774	Competitive market. Companies include UK-listed groups and UK subsidiaries of overseas parents; many low-carbon projects sell power under government-backed contracts.
Networks (wires and pipes)	£417	Regional monopolies owned by private investors; Ofgem sets what they may earn in multi-year price controls.
System operation	within networks and industry charges	The National Energy System Operator, publicly owned since 1 October 2024.
Supply (your energy company)	£250	Competitive retail market; the cap allows an efficient supplier its operating costs and a profit allowance of £46.

Supply share = operating costs plus profit allowance; bad debt, headroom and other lines are excluded. Every company, checked against the Companies House register.

Rates for Oct–Dec 2026: electricity 26.32p/kWh and 54.83p/day; gas 7.97p/kWh and 29.68p/day (GB average, direct debit).

Why it is happening

Our analysis

World energy prices and network costs drive much of the bill. Better-insulated homes can use less energy, but improvements need skilled installers and someone to pay the upfront cost.

Read the options, evidence and limits below.

Who is affected most

Who feels this most?

Who is most likely to be in fuel poverty?

Prepayment customers, homes off the gas grid and private renters are about twice as likely as average to be fuel poor

England only (fuel poverty is measured differently in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) · 2025 (projection from 2024 final estimates)

2025England 9.4%

Pays electricity by prepayment meter17.9%
Off the gas grid17.7%
Private renters17.2%
Pays electricity by standard credit (on receipt of bill)12.7%
Social renters12.0%
Pays electricity by direct debit8.1%
On the gas grid8.0%
Owner occupiers who own outright6.6%
Owner occupiers with a mortgage6.5%

Low incomes and poorly insulated homes make heating harder to afford. Renters, prepayment customers and homes without mains gas are particularly exposed. The latest overall estimate is a projection.

England only (fuel poverty is measured differently in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) · 2025 (projection from 2024 final estimates) · Accredited official statistics; 2025 figures are projections

Show the workings

Projected share of households in each group in fuel poverty (low income and a home rated band D or worse), England, 2025. Three separate breakdowns of the same households: by how they pay for electricity, gas connection, and tenure.

Fuel poverty depends on three things together: income, how efficient the home is, and the price of energy. The groups most exposed are those where low incomes meet less efficient homes — private renters, households off the gas grid (who heat with oil or electricity) and those on prepayment meters, whose median income is the lowest. These are associations within one survey, not separate causes. Overall 9.4% of households, 2.36 million, were projected to be fuel poor in 2025; final estimates are due in 2027.

Geography:: England only (fuel poverty is measured differently in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) — All households
Measure:: % of households in the group
Period:: 2025 (projection from 2024 final estimates)
Status:: Accredited official statistics; 2025 figures are projections
Calculation:: As published by DESNZ (Low Income Low Energy Efficiency measure). Each breakdown covers all households, so rows from different breakdowns overlap and do not add up.
Compare with:: All households in England, 9.4%
Not included / breaks:: The measure counts a household as fuel poor only if its home is rated band D or below, so a low-income household in an efficient home is not counted however high its bills. DESNZ notes the higher rate among prepayment users reflects their lower incomes, not the tariff itself.

Source: DESNZ, Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics in England, 2026 (2025 data), report pp. 1, 36, 37 and 49 (Figures 3.13, 3.14, 3.26) (released 26 March 2026; corrected 7 August 2026).

View the data as a table

Group	Fuel poverty rate, %
Pays electricity by prepayment meter	17.9
Off the gas grid	17.7
Private renters	17.2
Pays electricity by standard credit (on receipt of bill)	12.7
Social renters	12.0
Pays electricity by direct debit	8.1
On the gas grid	8.0
Owner occupiers who own outright	6.6
Owner occupiers with a mortgage	6.5
All households in England	9.4

How the fuel-poverty projections were produced

DESNZ projects 2025 from the final 2024 estimates. The underlying English Housing Survey combines interviews and physical inspections of 14,501 occupied dwellings, collected from April 2023 to March 2025. The projection updates this pooled base; it is not a direct survey of 14,501 households in 2025. Final 2025 estimates are due in 2027. These groups overlap, and differences do not establish that a payment method causes fuel poverty.

DESNZ report, methodology and August 2026 correction

Where household money goes → Dev preview

Go deeper

Is energy still dearer than before the crisis?

+94.7%Jan 2015–Sep 2026United Kingdom · index (2015=100)

100.2 → 195.1Jan 2015–Sep 2026

Electricity price index, not a typical household bill. The price cap itself begins in 2019.

Sources and data

Covers all domestic electricity tariffs (default, fixed and prepayment) in the UK, including Northern Ireland, so it is not the Ofgem cap, which is Great Britain default tariffs only. ONS classifies the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme (October 2022 to March 2023) as a transfer to households, not a price reduction, so it does not lower this index. The Energy Price Guarantee (October 2022 to June 2023) was a subsidy that cut the prices households were charged, so it does.

Source dataset →

Period	index (2015=100)	Status
Jan 2015	100.2	Outturn
Feb 2015	100.2	Outturn
Mar 2015	100.2	Outturn
Apr 2015	100	Outturn
May 2015	100	Outturn
Jun 2015	99.9	Outturn
Jul 2015	99.9	Outturn
Aug 2015	99.9	Outturn
Sep 2015	99.9	Outturn
Oct 2015	99.9	Outturn
Nov 2015	99.9	Outturn
Dec 2015	99.9	Outturn
Jan 2016	99.9	Outturn
Feb 2016	99.9	Outturn
Mar 2016	99.9	Outturn
Apr 2016	99.7	Outturn
May 2016	99.7	Outturn
Jun 2016	99.7	Outturn
Jul 2016	99.7	Outturn
Aug 2016	99.7	Outturn
Sep 2016	99.7	Outturn
Oct 2016	99.7	Outturn
Nov 2016	99.7	Outturn
Dec 2016	99.7	Outturn
Jan 2017	99.7	Outturn
Feb 2017	99.7	Outturn
Mar 2017	100.7	Outturn
Apr 2017	103.2	Outturn
May 2017	107.4	Outturn
Jun 2017	107.4	Outturn
Jul 2017	108.7	Outturn
Aug 2017	108.7	Outturn
Sep 2017	108.7	Outturn
Oct 2017	111.1	Outturn
Nov 2017	111.1	Outturn
Dec 2017	111.1	Outturn
Jan 2018	111.1	Outturn
Feb 2018	111.1	Outturn
Mar 2018	111.1	Outturn
Apr 2018	112.1	Outturn
May 2018	112.2	Outturn
Jun 2018	114.7	Outturn
Jul 2018	116.7	Outturn
Aug 2018	116.7	Outturn
Sep 2018	118.8	Outturn
Oct 2018	121.2	Outturn
Nov 2018	121.2	Outturn
Dec 2018	121.2	Outturn
Jan 2019	115.3	Outturn
Feb 2019	115.4	Outturn
Mar 2019	115.4	Outturn
Apr 2019	127.9	Outturn
May 2019	127.9	Outturn
Jun 2019	127.9	Outturn
Jul 2019	127.9	Outturn
Aug 2019	127.9	Outturn
Sep 2019	127.9	Outturn
Oct 2019	125.2	Outturn
Nov 2019	125.2	Outturn
Dec 2019	125.2	Outturn
Jan 2020	125.2	Outturn
Feb 2020	125.2	Outturn
Mar 2020	125.2	Outturn
Apr 2020	125.4	Outturn
May 2020	125.4	Outturn
Jun 2020	125.4	Outturn
Jul 2020	125.3	Outturn
Aug 2020	125.3	Outturn
Sep 2020	125.3	Outturn
Oct 2020	121.2	Outturn
Nov 2020	121.2	Outturn
Dec 2020	121.2	Outturn
Jan 2021	121.2	Outturn
Feb 2021	121.2	Outturn
Mar 2021	121.2	Outturn
Apr 2021	132.3	Outturn
May 2021	132.3	Outturn
Jun 2021	132.3	Outturn
Jul 2021	132.5	Outturn
Aug 2021	132.5	Outturn
Sep 2021	132.5	Outturn
Oct 2021	144	Outturn
Nov 2021	144	Outturn
Dec 2021	144	Outturn
Jan 2022	144.5	Outturn
Feb 2022	144.5	Outturn
Mar 2022	144.5	Outturn
Apr 2022	203.2	Outturn
May 2022	203.2	Outturn
Jun 2022	203.2	Outturn
Jul 2022	204.1	Outturn
Aug 2022	204.1	Outturn
Sep 2022	204.1	Outturn
Oct 2022	238.6	Outturn
Nov 2022	238.1	Outturn
Dec 2022	238.1	Outturn
Jan 2023	240.9	Outturn
Feb 2023	240.9	Outturn
Mar 2023	240.9	Outturn
Apr 2023	238.3	Outturn
May 2023	238.3	Outturn
Jun 2023	238.3	Outturn
Jul 2023	217.7	Outturn
Aug 2023	217.7	Outturn
Sep 2023	217.7	Outturn
Oct 2023	201.4	Outturn
Nov 2023	201.4	Outturn
Dec 2023	201.4	Outturn
Jan 2024	209.6	Outturn
Feb 2024	209.6	Outturn
Mar 2024	209.6	Outturn
Apr 2024	188.1	Outturn
May 2024	188.1	Outturn
Jun 2024	188.1	Outturn
Jul 2024	175.3	Outturn
Aug 2024	175.3	Outturn
Sep 2024	175.3	Outturn
Oct 2024	188.8	Outturn
Nov 2024	188.8	Outturn
Dec 2024	189	Outturn
Jan 2025	191.2	Outturn
Feb 2025	191.2	Outturn
Mar 2025	191.1	Outturn
Apr 2025	196.8	Outturn
May 2025	196.7	Outturn
Jun 2025	196.7	Outturn
Jul 2025	189.3	Outturn
Aug 2025	189.3	Outturn
Sep 2025	189.4	Outturn
Oct 2025	193.9	Outturn
Nov 2025	194.1	Outturn
Dec 2025	194.2	Outturn
Jan 2026	201.3	Outturn
Feb 2026	201.3	Outturn
Mar 2026	201.9	Outturn
Apr 2026	184.9	Outturn
May 2026	185.7	Outturn
Jun 2026	186.5	Outturn
Jul 2026	193.2	Outturn
Aug 2026	194	Outturn
Sep 2026	195.1	Outturn

Cash and real terms, the price guarantee, and why Ofgem’s headline figures changed basis.Read the chapter →

Where does a bill go, and what drives each part?Wholesale energy and networks make up most of it. Wholesale follows gas; network costs have roughly doubled since 2019.Ofgem’s cost components over time: gas, generation, networks and policy costs.Read the chapter → Where does a bill go, and what drives each part?
Who owns which part of the system?Supply and generation are competitive markets; the wires are regulated private monopolies; the system operator is now public.Every company checked against the Companies House register, and what the listed groups report.Read the chapter → Who owns which part of the system?
Would public ownership of the grid cut bills?It could cut financing costs by about £1.6bn a year on Ofgem’s own figures — if the state borrowed at Ofgem’s risk-free rate and paid book value.A model of the electricity networks, with the assumptions you can change.Read the chapter → Would public ownership of the grid cut bills?

Why do industrial power costs matter?

+645.0%2004 Q1–2026 Q2United Kingdom · pence per kWh

3.3 → 24.62004 Q1–2026 Q2

Medium-band industrial electricity prices. Household tariffs use a different measure.

Sources and data

"Medium" non-domestic consumer band: 2,000–19,999 MWh/yr for electricity, 2,778–27,777 MWh/yr for gas. Excludes the Climate Change Levy and VAT. DESNZ notes an ongoing revision to the 'Very Small' electricity band from Q4 2024 — does not affect the Medium band used here.

Source dataset →

Period	pence per kWh	Status
2004 Q1	3.303	Outturn
2004 Q2	3.304	Outturn
2004 Q3	3.386	Outturn
2004 Q4	3.97	Outturn
2005 Q1	4.274	Outturn
2005 Q2	4.251	Outturn
2005 Q3	4.363	Outturn
2005 Q4	5.525	Outturn
2006 Q1	5.984	Outturn
2006 Q2	5.908	Outturn
2006 Q3	5.85	Outturn
2006 Q4	6.972	Outturn
2007 Q1	7.002	Outturn
2007 Q2	6.227	Outturn
2007 Q3	6.258	Outturn
2007 Q4	6.318	Outturn
2008 Q1	6.366	Outturn
2008 Q2	6.728	Outturn
2008 Q3	7.175	Outturn
2008 Q4	9.227	Outturn
2009 Q1	8.237	Outturn
2009 Q2	8.359	Outturn
2009 Q3	7.984	Outturn
2009 Q4	7.396	Outturn
2010 Q1	7.297	Outturn
2010 Q2	7.115	Outturn
2010 Q3	7.163	Outturn
2010 Q4	7.269	Outturn
2011 Q1	7.456	Outturn
2011 Q2	7.402	Outturn
2011 Q3	7.46	Outturn
2011 Q4	7.989	Outturn
2012 Q1	8.113	Outturn
2012 Q2	8.176	Outturn
2012 Q3	8.275	Outturn
2012 Q4	8.456	Outturn
2013 Q1	8.621	Outturn
2013 Q2	8.823	Outturn
2013 Q3	8.824	Outturn
2013 Q4	9.338	Outturn
2014 Q1	9.456	Outturn
2014 Q2	9.298	Outturn
2014 Q3	9.121	Outturn
2014 Q4	9.521	Outturn
2015 Q1	9.814	Outturn
2015 Q2	9.717	Outturn
2015 Q3	9.748	Outturn
2015 Q4	9.699	Outturn
2016 Q1	9.627	Outturn
2016 Q2	9.267	Outturn
2016 Q3	9.438	Outturn
2016 Q4	9.921	Outturn
2017 Q1	10.062	Outturn
2017 Q2	9.901	Outturn
2017 Q3	9.961	Outturn
2017 Q4	10.395	Outturn
2018 Q1	10.719	Outturn
2018 Q2	10.888	Outturn
2018 Q3	11.034	Outturn
2018 Q4	11.908	Outturn
2019 Q1	12.118	Outturn
2019 Q2	11.248	Outturn
2019 Q3	11.459	Outturn
2019 Q4	12.749	Outturn
2020 Q1	13.094	Outturn
2020 Q2	12.182	Outturn
2020 Q3	11.852	Outturn
2020 Q4	13.017	Outturn
2021 Q1	13.123	Outturn
2021 Q2	12.009	Outturn
2021 Q3	12.35	Outturn
2021 Q4	16.514	Outturn
2022 Q1	17.385	Outturn
2022 Q2	17.746	Outturn
2022 Q3	20.226	Outturn
2022 Q4	23.361	Outturn
2023 Q1	25.296	Outturn
2023 Q2	28.704	Outturn
2023 Q3	30.408	Outturn
2023 Q4	30.094	Outturn
2024 Q1	30.231	Outturn
2024 Q2	28.297	Outturn
2024 Q3	27.568	Outturn
2024 Q4	26.226	Outturn
2025 Q1	26.723	Outturn
2025 Q2	25.264	Outturn
2025 Q3	24.267	Outturn
2025 Q4	24.803	Outturn
2026 Q1	24.458	Outturn
2026 Q2	24.607	Outturn

Industrial prices, generation and what they mean for growth.Read the chapter →

How this connects

Can power and grid capacity support new industry?
Industrial electricity prices, generation by source and what they mean for growth.
Household capped tariffs cannot explain industrial electricity costs; that page uses a separate industrial price series.
How long is the queue to connect to the grid?
New generation and storage cannot lower costs until they are connected; the connections queue is one of the binding constraints.
What do private renters pay for a home?
Private renters have the highest fuel poverty rate in England, and rent comes out of the same income as energy.
Fuel poverty and rent burden come from different surveys.
Who has least room in their budget?
Required energy costs were 14.9% of after-housing-cost income for low-income households in England in 2025, against 6.8% for all households (DESNZ), so the same price rise takes a bigger bite.
Energy cost shares are modelled by DESNZ; income inequality uses different surveys.

What could change

Proposals to consider. The bodies named below would need to agree to deliver them; responsibility is not a recorded commitment. Follow the links for costs and evidence.

Connect the power Britain needs
Improve electricity connections and power supply for industry.
Who could deliver it: Energy departments, system/network operators and regulators.
Main trade-off and delivery needs
Binding specialist/kit constraints; moving charges to households; stranded assets.
Separate queue management, network reinforcement and industrial levies; identify projects, kit, engineers and regulator decisions.
Cost: The extra cost is not yet known.
Costs, drawbacks and evidence →
Warm homes, inspected before payment
Improve insulation, heating and ventilation for households most in need. Survey homes first and check the finished work.
Who could deliver it: Energy/housing departments, councils and installers.
Main trade-off and delivery needs
Damp, overheating, defects and installer constraints; inspection is not a guarantee.
Target poor-quality homes; survey suitability/ventilation; use qualified installers and independent inspection; establish redress.
Cost: Only part of the cost has been estimated.
Costs, drawbacks and evidence →
Change how utilities fund investment and share the risks
Reduce excessive financing costs in essential services and make shareholders bear the cost of failure.
Who could deliver it: Sector regulators, Treasury, relevant departments and infrastructure bodies.
Main trade-off and delivery needs
Underinvestment, legal disputes and transferred taxpayer risk; no additive headline saving.
Separate sectors and instruments; assess legal/regulatory powers, financing, compensation, investment and service quality.
Cost: The extra cost is not yet known.
Costs, drawbacks and evidence →

See all options and what is still unknown →

Some problems have no assessed solution yet: see coverage and gaps.

Domain SWOT

Recorded

Budget 2026 bears on 2 of these findings

Show the findings

Strengths · 3 findings

The Warm Homes Plan allocates £4.4bn of grants for low-income homes over five years, within £15bn of public investment.
England · 2025–26 to 2029–30
Most policy costs have already moved off bills onto taxation: since April 2026 they are about a tenth of a typical bill.
Great Britain · From April 2026
Electricity is far cleaner than it was: low-carbon sources generated 64% of UK electricity in 2025, against 25% in 2000; none came from coal in 2025; and each kilowatt-hour supplied carried 147g of CO2 in 2025, against 476g in 2000.
United Kingdom · 2000 to 2025

Weaknesses · 5 findings

Random audits of previously unaudited ECO4/GBIS installations estimated major or Category 1 non-compliance in 98% of external and 29% of internal wall insulation. The NAO identified oversight failures. Extending ECO4 gives time for repair; it does not establish that homes have been put right.
Great Britain · 2025 statistical audits; ECO4 extension to December 2026
The price cap at typical use is £1,723 a year, against £979 before the 2021 gas surge.
Great Britain · Oct–Dec 2026 (Apr–Sep 2021 comparison)
Budget 2026 responds to this
Temporary help with bills (a £100 payment and a VAT cut on electricity to July 2027) and removal of carbon price support rates; none changes the price cap’s underlying level for long.
Household Energy Payment Support for Energy Bills Carbon Price Support (CPS)Track delivery →
9.4% of households in England — about 2.36 million — were projected to be in fuel poverty in 2025, based on 2024 final estimates; these are not final 2025 survey results.
Depends on: DESNZ projection from final 2024 EHS estimates, conditional on modelled income, efficiency and energy-price changes; final 2025 estimates are due in 2027.
England · 2025 · modelled estimate
Budget 2026 responds to this
Short-term bill support; the payment is targeted by council tax band, not by fuel poverty.
Household Energy Payment Support for Energy Bills Track delivery →
Wholesale costs are about a third of a typical bill and networks almost another third, so cutting policy costs alone cannot bring bills back down.
Great Britain · From April 2026
Connections reform has cut the queue but not yet the wait: before it, offer dates stretched into the 2040s; by June 2026, 713 of the 1,223 projects needed for 2030 (58%, 37GW) had offers, and Ofgem has twice extended the deadline for the rest, now 31 October 2026.
Great Britain · April 2025 to October 2026

Opportunities · 1 finding

Quality-assured upgrades for the least efficient homes, and electricity prices that reward clean heating, could lower bills and gas exposure together.
Depends on: Installers and inspections keep pace, and households who cannot switch from gas are protected.
our synthesis

Threats · 2 findings

Moving levies onto gas would raise bills for households that cannot switch — Nesta estimated about 19 million gas households paying about £20 a year more before compensation.
risk
Poor installation or ventilation can leave homes damp, and measured savings vary year to year.
risk

See the whole-UK SWOT →

Domain action plan

Proposed

Possible steps for government and the bodies responsible. These describe the order of work, not promised dates: starting an action and seeing results take different amounts of time.

Short term · prepare
Identify the grid, investment and household-efficiency bottlenecks.
Medium term · deliver
Deliver connections and suitable home improvements with trained workers.
Long term · judge results
Check whether bills and supply risks fall, including for poorer households.

Delivery steps and owners (5)

Prerequisite: Survey homes; rerun levy modelling on the post-April 2026 baseline · Councils and assessors; DESNZ · proposed
Decision: Award grants to named schemes; decide the levy design and compensation · DESNZ and HM Treasury · proposed
Delivery: Install, inspect and fix defects; phase in pricing with protection · Accredited installers; Ofgem and suppliers · proposed
Result: Lower weather-adjusted energy use and fuel poverty · DESNZ statistics · proposed
Delivery: Issue Gate 2 connection offers (Phase 1 deadline extended to 31 October 2026) · NESO and network companies · 31 October 2026 (Ofgem letter, 2 October 2026)

Sources, method and changes

Shareable visual summary

Visual summary

A year of typical energy use costs £1,723, £744 more than in 2021.

At the same typical use (2,500 kWh electricity, 9,500 kWh gas a year), Ofgem’s Great Britain dual-fuel direct-debit cap comes to £1,723 a year for October–December 2026, against £979 in April–September 2021: 76% more in cash, not adjusted for inflation. A benchmark, not a maximum bill: the cap limits unit rates and standing charges; use more and you pay more.

£979Apr–September 2021, same typical use
£1,723Oct–December 2026, same typical use
76%more in cash terms

Your bill = your usage × capped unit rates + capped daily standing charges.

Energy infographic: £1,723 is Ofgem’s typical-use annual benchmark for October–December 2026 in Great Britain; it is not a maximum bill. — Great Britain, dual fuel, direct debit. Source: Ofgem, Energy price cap.

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Text and data version

A year of typical energy use costs £1,723, £744 more than in 2021. At the same typical use (2,500 kWh electricity, 9,500 kWh gas a year), Ofgem’s Great Britain dual-fuel direct-debit cap comes to £1,723 a year for October–December 2026, against £979 in April–September 2021: 76% more in cash, not adjusted for inflation. A benchmark, not a maximum bill: the cap limits unit rates and standing charges; use more and you pay more.

Records behind this visual summary
Measure	Value	Period	Geography	Type	Source
Ofgem price cap, typical dual-fuel direct-debit annual billCalculation: (elec standing charge + elec unit rate × TDCV_electricity) + (gas standing charge + gas unit rate × TDCV_gas), with TDCV set to the value Ofgem used for that cap period	£1,723	Oct–Dec 2026	Great Britain	policy target (provisional)	Ofgem, Default tariff cap
Ofgem price cap at matched typical use, April–September 2021	£979	Apr–Sep 2021	Great Britain	policy target	Ofgem, Default tariff cap
Ofgem price cap at matched typical use, latest period	£1,723	Oct–Dec 2026	Great Britain	policy target (provisional)	Ofgem, Default tariff cap
Cash rise in the typical-use cap since April–September 2021 (same consumption)Calculation: (latest ÷ April–September 2021 − 1) × 100, same typical consumption, cash terms	76%	Oct–Dec 2026	Great Britain	derived calculation (provisional)	Ofgem, Default tariff cap

Image description: Energy infographic: £1,723 is Ofgem’s typical-use annual benchmark for October–December 2026 in Great Britain; it is not a maximum bill.

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A landscape card for sharing this finding. Post it with the page link — an uploaded image does not link back by itself.

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Available images and their source records are listed on Shareable visuals.

Sources and methods (11)

Ofgem, Energy price cap (default tariff) levels — Annex 9, levelised cap levels, sheet 1c 'Consumption adjusted levels', Other Payment Method (direct debit) (released 26 August 2026) — cap levels, unit rates, standing charges and cost components, every period since January 2019
Ofgem, Energy price cap will rise by 4% from October 2026 (released 26 August 2026) — October–December 2026 announcement, VAT change, typical consumption review
ONS, Consumer price inflation (MM23), series D7BT (all items), D7DT (electricity), D7DU (gas) (released 16 September 2026) — real-terms adjustment and the prices households were actually charged
Ofgem, Summary of changes to the energy price cap, April–June 2026, Removal of ECO/GBIS allowances and 75% reduction in the RO allowance — April 2026 tariff allowance changes, separate from existing scheme obligations
DESNZ, Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics in England, 2026 (2025 data), report pp. 1, 36, 37 and 49 (Figures 3.13, 3.14, 3.26) (released 26 March 2026; corrected 7 August 2026) — fuel poverty by tenure, gas connection and payment method, England
GOV.UK, Government support for energy bills begins for households and businesses (1 October 2022) — Energy Price Guarantee and Energy Bills Support Scheme terms
GOV.UK, Energy Price Guarantee extended for an extra three months (Spring Budget, 15 March 2023) — Energy Price Guarantee held at £2,500 to June 2023
ONS, Energy Bills Support Scheme classification — why the £400 discount is not in consumer price indices
ONS, The impact of higher energy costs on UK businesses: 2021 to 2024 (19 May 2025) — gas set the GB wholesale electricity price 97% of the time in 2021 while making 43% of electricity (citing Zakeri et al., Energy Reports, 2023)
GOV.UK, New publicly owned National Energy System Operator to pave the way to a clean energy future — system operator in public ownership from 1 October 2024
Ofgem, default tariff cap letter, 7 August 2020 (footnote 2) — “The default tariff cap sets maximum prices, not maximum bills”

Method notes

The cap is set for Great Britain only. Northern Ireland’s energy prices are regulated separately by the Utility Regulator and are not in these figures. CPI indices cover the whole UK; fuel poverty statistics cover England.
All cap figures are for default tariffs paid by direct debit, GB average, single-rate electricity. Ofgem restates past periods at its latest typical consumption (2,500 kWh electricity and 9,500 kWh gas from July 2026), so they differ from the figures announced at the time.
Real-terms figures deflate each cap period by CPI (all items) for its first month, expressed in Sep 2026 prices. Periods starting after the latest CPI month are left out of the real-terms chart rather than estimated.
Unit rates and standing charges are derived from Ofgem’s nil- and typical-consumption levels using Ofgem’s own definition of the cap; they match Ofgem’s published consumer rates to the penny.

Corrections and changes

2026-10-11: Clarified that the cash cap comparison ends in October–December 2026, while the available inflation-adjusted comparison ends in July–September 2026.

The short version

Three key measures

What the Budget means for energy

The evidence

Going cold, skipping meals

How do UK energy prices compare abroad?

Large industrial users

Very large industrial users

Where the electricity comes from

The UK mix against the G7

Energy cost and the technology gap

What households pay now

The cap limits rates, not your total bill

What happens to the cap next?

Insulation needs verified installation and repairs

The energy shock eased, but the comparable bill remains above its earlier level

Where a bill goes

Wholesale energy is 45% of the typical capped bill; networks 24%

Gas, generation, networks and policy costs

Who owns which part of the system?

Why it is happening

Who is affected most

Who feels this most?

Prepayment customers, homes off the gas grid and private renters are about twice as likely as average to be fuel poor

Related issues

Go deeper

How this connects

What could change

Connect the power Britain needs

Warm homes, inspected before payment

Change how utilities fund investment and share the risks

Domain SWOT

Domain action plan

Sources, method and changes

Visual summary

Social card

Method notes

Corrections and changes