Energy prices by region
Great Britain’s electricity is priced by fourteen distribution regions. Each is served by one network operator, each has its own Ofgem price cap, and which one a household is in is decided by where the property is rather than by who supplies it.
Why your region changes your bill
The cost of getting electricity to a property is not the same everywhere. Long overhead lines across sparse country cost more per household to build, maintain and repair than dense urban cable that serves thousands from one substation. Those costs are recovered through the standing charge and the unit rate, so Ofgem caps each region separately.
The result is that two identical households on identical tariffs pay different amounts, and neither has done anything differently. The spread is not trivial: the table below is the current cap period, and the gap between the cheapest and dearest region is visible at a glance.
Every region, cheapest first
Ofgem cap · Direct Debit · 14 regions
| Region | Electricity unit rate | Standing charge | Typical dual fuel |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 25.36p | 51.45p a day | £1,672 |
| North East England | 25.46p | 61.58p a day | £1,723 |
| Yorkshire | 25.60p | 61.67p a day | £1,724 |
| West Midlands | 25.60p | 57.23p a day | £1,708 |
| Southern Scotland | 26.11p | 61.41p a day | £1,734 |
| Northern Scotland | 26.35p | 55.14p a day | £1,717 |
| Southern England | 26.47p | 47.81p a day | £1,719 |
| North West England | 26.49p | 45.68p a day | £1,685 |
| South Wales | 26.55p | 55.41p a day | £1,744 |
| South West England | 26.58p | 55.58p a day | £1,746 |
| London | 26.60p | 42.92p a day | £1,706 |
| Eastern England | 26.61p | 51.84p a day | £1,713 |
| South East England | 26.88p | 52.32p a day | £1,734 |
| Merseyside and North Wales | 27.86p | 67.66p a day | £1,804 |
Direct Debit, including the applicable VAT for each fuel. The typical annual figure is Ofgem’s own illustration for a household using a typical amount of energy, not a limit on what anyone can be charged. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Ofgem.
Which region am I in?
Your bill names it. If it does not, the area energy use page resolves it from a postcode that is never stored — the postcode goes in a request body, is used twice, and is discarded.
Frequently asked questions
How many energy regions are there in Great Britain?
Fourteen. Each is an electricity distribution region served by one network operator, and each has its own Ofgem price cap. Northern Ireland has a separate energy market with its own regulator and is not one of the fourteen.
Which region is the cheapest for electricity?
It changes every time Ofgem resets the cap, which is quarterly, and the answer differs for unit rates, standing charges and the typical annual bill — a region can have the cheapest unit rate and an expensive standing charge. The table on this page is drawn from the current cap period rather than written into the text, so it does not go stale.
Can I choose which energy region I am in?
No. It follows the wires into the property, not the contract. Switching supplier changes who bills you; it does not change which network delivers your electricity or which regional cap applies.