From 1 October 2024, bills increase by around 10% to an average of £1,717
The next Ofgem price cap will be announced at the end of November 2024 to take effect from 1 January 2025.
Energy bills remain at levels 65% above winter 2020/21, but people have less ability to pay these high prices after so many years of high bills and the wider cost of living crisis.
The price cap affects around 28 million customers on standard variable tariffs (SVTs), including around 4 million customers on prepayment meters (PPMs). Further changes to the SVT are due to come into force on 1 October 2024 (announced August 2024) and 1 January 2025 (announced November 2024).
The price cap limits the unit cost of energy and standing charges which firms can charge, not the total bill. If you use more energy than average you will pay more than this figure.
Therefore it is useful to look at the cost of a unit of energy and the daily standing charge:
This enables us to make comparisons with previous periods:
It also enables us to calculate how much “extra” the average household has had to pay for their energy. This takes into account any Government support. For the impact on older people, read this article.
| Cap change date | Average household energy bill (GBP), including Govt support | Amount above GBP1,042 per household (weighted for the number of months in price cap period) |
| 01-Oct-20 | £ 1,042 | Baseline |
| 01-Apr-21 | £ 1,138 | £ 48 |
| 01-Oct-21 | £ 1,277 | £ 118 |
| 01-Apr-22 | £ 1,971 | £ 465 |
| 01-Oct-22 | £ 2,100 | £ 529 |
| 01-Apr-23 | £ 2,500 | £ 365 |
| 01-Jul-23 | £ 2,074 | £ 258 |
| 01-Oct-23 | £ 1,834 | £ 198 |
| 01-Jan-24 | £ 1,928 | £ 222 |
| 01-Apr-24 | £ 1,690 | £ 162 |
| 01-Jul-24 | £ 1,568 | £ 132 |
| 01-Oct-24 | £ 1,717 | £ 169 |
| TOTAL | £ 2,495 |
The average household headline rate over time shows the current state of play:
The market for fixed term deals is improving, but those with high exit fees should be treated with suspicion. Customers should also exercise caution when opting for a deal with no or low standing charges as these may be passed on still via higher unit costs.
Britain’s broken energy system continues to cause misery, with fuel poverty affecting many of the most vulnerable. Over 8 million adults lived in cold damp homes and official figures showed that cases of hypothermia surged and every year we see deaths caused by living in cold homes.
Other inequalities in the energy market remain with customers paying by standard credit (i.e. paying by cash, cheque or bank transfer) hit with a significant price premium.
Meanwhile some regions, such as Merseyside and North Wales will pay substantially more than others, such as those in the East Midlands.
To end the energy bills crisis, we need:
- More government help with energy bills to stop people being pushed into poverty this winter.
- Government investment in schemes to provide effective insulation and new efficient heating systems in homes to cut bills in the medium term.
- Rapidly expanding cheap, sustainable renewable energy to lower bills permanently.
- Saying “no” to new oil, gas and hydrogen for homes developments so we’re not locked into expensive fossil energy for longer than necessary.
Full Price Cap History data (End Fuel Poverty Coalition records) are available to media on request.