Energy Price Cap Rates by Region
The energy price cap is the number that decides what most British households pay for gas and electricity: it governs every standard variable tariff, which is where a household ends up by default when a fix expires and nothing is done. It changes every three months.
It is also widely misunderstood — including by people who follow it closely. This page shows the official Ofgem rates for your region and payment method, and explains what the cap does, what it emphatically does not do, and what makes up the price underneath it.
What the price cap actually caps
The cap limits two things: the unit rate you pay for each kWh of gas and electricity, and the daily standing charge you pay whether you use anything or not.
It does not cap your bill. Your bill is those two prices multiplied by how much energy you use, and there is no ceiling on that.
It covers standard variable gas and electricity tariffs. It does not cap the price of heat supplied by a communal or district heat network.
The rates where you live
Pick your region and how you pay. Every price shown includes VAT at the rate that applies to that fuel.
GB average · Direct Debit
£1,723 a year
Electricity plus gas at Ofgem's current medium-consumption assumptions. This is a comparison example, not a maximum bill: what you pay still depends on how much energy you use.
Applies 2026-10-01 to 2026-12-31. All displayed prices include the applicable VAT.
Electricity · single rate
Unit rate
26.32p
per kWh
Standing charge
54.83p
per day
At Ofgem's 2,500 kWh benchmark: £858 a year.
These prices include VAT at 0%.
Gas
Unit rate
7.97p
per kWh
Standing charge
29.68p
per day
At Ofgem's 9,500 kWh benchmark: £865 a year.
These prices include VAT at 5%.
Electricity · multi-register
Unit rate
24.90p
per kWh
Standing charge
54.62p
per day
At Ofgem's 3,400 kWh benchmark: £1,046 a year.
These prices include VAT at 0%.
Blended benchmark equivalent; actual peak and off-peak rates vary by tariff.
Why the rate changes
Ofgem sets separate rates for fourteen regions because network costs vary around Great Britain. It also sets separate caps for each payment method because suppliers face different administration and debt costs.
Direct Debit usually has the lowest cap. Standard credit costs more to administer, while prepayment rates are adjusted to sit closer to Direct Debit. Use the selector above to compare them for your region.
What you are actually paying for
The cap includes wholesale energy, network and policy costs, supplier operating costs, debt allowances, a permitted profit margin and VAT. These are regulatory allowances, not a record of what a particular supplier spent. The current split is shown below.
Great Britain · Ofgem price cap
What makes up the direct debit price cap
These are the cost allowances Ofgem builds the cap from for Oct - Dec 2026. They describe the regulated model, not any one supplier’s actual costs — a supplier may spend more or less than the allowance on any line.
Cap level, Oct - Dec 2026
£1,723
A year at typical consumption, paying by direct debit
Largest single cost
£812
Wholesale energy
Periods published
25
Since Oct 2018
Cost allowances for Oct - Dec 2026
| Cost line | A year | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale energyThe gas and electricity itself, bought on the wholesale market. This is the line that moves most between quarters, and the one that news coverage of gas prices is really about.Wholesale costs | £812 | 47.1% | |
| Network costsBuilding and maintaining the pipes, wires, pylons and substations that carry energy to your door, and running the transmission and distribution networks. This is the main reason the cap differs by region.Network costs | £417 | 24.2% | |
| Operating costs and industry chargesThe supplier's own cost of serving you — billing, metering, call centres, IT, staff — together with the industry-wide charges every supplier must pay to participate in the market.Operating Costs and Industry Charges | £232 | 13.5% | |
| Policy costsGovernment schemes recovered through bills rather than taxation — support for renewable generation, insulation for low-income homes and the Warm Home Discount among them.Policy costs | £96 | 5.6% | |
| Debt-related costsThe cost of customers who do not pay. Ofgem allows suppliers to recover a share of unrecoverable debt across everybody, which is why other customers falling behind shows up on your bill.Debt Related Costs | £52 | 3.0% | |
| Supplier margin (EBIT)The profit margin Ofgem permits a supplier to earn — Earnings Before Interest and Taxes. It is a permitted return, not a measure of what any supplier actually made.Earnings Before Interest & Taxes (EBIT) | £46 | 2.7% | |
| VATValue Added Tax at the reduced domestic-energy rate, rather than the standard rate charged on most goods and services.VAT | £41 | 2.4% | |
| Headroom allowanceA deliberate margin of error. Because the cap is set in advance for a whole quarter, Ofgem adds a buffer so suppliers are not pushed under by costs moving faster than the model assumed.Headroom allowance | £18 | 1.0% | |
| LevelisationThe transfer that keeps payment methods aligned. Rather than letting prepayment customers pay more because they cost more to serve, the difference is spread across everybody.Levelisation | £8 | 0.5% | |
| Adjustment allowanceA correction for costs that fall outside the standard model, usually one-off or recovered over a set period rather than repeating every quarter.Adjustment allowance | £0 | 0.0% | |
| Published total | £1,723 | ||
Ofgem rounds every line and the total separately, so the lines add up to £1,722 against a published total of £1,723. The published figures are shown unchanged rather than adjusted to match.
Why some lines cannot be compared over time
Ofgem changed how it groups these costs. 7 of the cost lines have been reported the same way in all 25 published periods and can be tracked across the whole history. The rest were introduced or discontinued partway through, so a single line drawn through them would show a change in Ofgem’s reporting rather than a change in cost.
- Debt-related costsreported for 6 of 25 periods, Jul 2025 to Oct 2026
- Levelisationreported for 12 of 25 periods, Jan 2024 to Oct 2026
- Supplier operating costsreported for 19 of 25 periods, Oct 2018 to Apr 2025
- Operating costs and industry chargesreported for 6 of 25 periods, Jul 2025 to Oct 2026
- Payment method upliftreported for 19 of 25 periods, Oct 2018 to Apr 2025
Source: Ofgem — Costs included in the price cap level. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How the price cap has changed
The chart below is Ofgem’s own headline illustration for each cap period, using its typical-consumption basis for the Direct Debit payment method. It is useful for seeing the benchmark move over time, but it is a Great Britain comparison figure rather than a bill for your region or household.
The price cap since Oct 18
A year of energy at typical consumption, paying by direct debit. This is the benchmark every tariff on this site is measured against, and it is a Great Britain figure rather than a regional one.
The cap peaked at £3,582 in Jan - Mar 2023 and stands at £1,723 for Oct - Dec 2026.
Show every period
| Period | Cap level |
|---|---|
| Oct - Dec 2026 | £1,723 |
| July - Sept 2026 | £1,663 |
| Apr - June 26 | £1,477 |
| Jan - Mar 2026 | £1,584 |
| Oct - Dec 2025 | £1,576 |
| July - Sept 2025 | £1,541 |
| Apr - June 25 | £1,655 |
| Jan - Mar 25 | £1,561 |
| Oct - Dec 24 | £1,543 |
| July-Sept 2024 | £1,414 |
| Apr-June 2024 | £1,521 |
| Jan - Mar 2024 | £1,723 |
| Oct - Dec 2023 | £1,641 |
| July-Sept 2023 | £1,766 |
| Apr-June 2023 | £2,762 |
| Jan - Mar 2023 | £3,582 |
| Oct - Dec 2022 | £2,972 |
| 2022 summer | £1,673 |
| 2021/22 winter | £1,093 |
| 2021 summer | £979 |
| 2020/21 winter | £899 |
| 2020 summer | £967 |
| 2019/20 winter | £979 |
| 2019 summer | £1,039 |
| 2018/19 winter | £945 |
The “typical bill” is not your bill
The annual figure in the headlines assumes a household using a specific amount of gas and electricity — Ofgem’s medium consumption values. If you use less, you pay less; if you use more, you pay more.
Use our typical household energy use figures to compare consumption bands, or put your own figures into the energy bill calculator.
Can you beat the cap?
Fixed, tracker and time-of-use tariffs can be cheaper than the cap. Compare their full rates and exit fees, not only the headline annual figure. See the current tariff pages or test half-hourly rates with the smart meter replay.
Frequently asked questions
What is the energy price cap?
It is a limit Ofgem sets on the unit rate and daily standing charge a supplier can charge on a standard variable tariff. It caps the price per unit, not your total bill — use more energy and you pay more, with no upper limit.
Does the price cap mean my bill cannot go above a certain amount?
No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding. The cap limits the price of each unit of energy and the daily standing charge. Your bill is those prices multiplied by how much you use, so there is no ceiling on the bill itself.
Why is the price cap different where I live?
Ofgem sets the cap for fourteen regions because the cost of getting energy to your door genuinely differs. Network charges vary by region, reflecting the local distribution network, how spread out its customers are and how much it costs to maintain. Northern Scotland and North Wales and Mersey tend to sit at the higher end, London and the East Midlands lower.
Why do prepayment and Direct Debit customers pay different rates?
Ofgem sets a separate cap for each payment method because they cost suppliers different amounts to serve. Direct Debit is the cheapest to administer. Standard credit — paying on receipt of a bill — costs more, partly because suppliers carry the money for longer and partly because more of it goes unpaid. Prepayment sits between the two since the Government levelised it against Direct Debit.
How often does the price cap change?
Every three months. Ofgem announces the new level roughly six weeks before it takes effect, on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. Before October 2022 it changed every six months.
