What will new energy price cap mean for your bills – and how can you bring them down?
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Cap of £1,738 for Great Britain comes into force on 1 January and is expected to go up again in the spring. The latest energy price cap came into force on 1 January 2025. At £1,738 a year it is 1.2% higher than in the previous three months. The price cap applies to energy providers’ standard tariffs, and the figure is for a typical household buying gas and electricity and paying by direct debit. Most households will pay a different sum as bills are based on usage.
No. For a while when the energy crisis began, it became impossible for providers to offer deals below the price cap – several went out of business because of their commitments – and the switching market all but closed. Now, however, you can get a better deal than the default. There are fixed and variable tariffs with lower rates, and with the cap forecast to go up again in April, you could be locking in below spring’s prices too.
Elise Melville, energy expert at price comparison website Uswitch.com, says there are “significant savings” on offer, and that “the average household could save up to £148 per year against the January price cap by switching to a 12-month fixed deal”. That saving is on the Big January Sale – Fix’d Dual v1.0, from a company called Outfox the Market.
Melville says customers who are in debt may be able to switch suppliers if their unpaid bill is less than 28 days old – otherwise, they will need to pay off what they owe before they can move. However, she says: “Even if you’re in debt, it’s worth checking if you can save by moving to a new deal with your current supplier, which could help you to lock in lower rates.”.
