April price cap announcement, fall of 7%

GingerTim

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/news/changes-energy-price-cap-between-1-april-and-30-june-2026

From 1 April to 30 June 2026 energy prices will go down by £117 or 7% for a typical household who use electricity and gas and pay by Direct Debit. These households will save around £10 a month.

Compared to the level between April and June 2025, it is 11% or £208 lower.

The annual cost for people who use electricity and gas and pay by Direct Debit would be £1,641 per year.

Energy price cap rates 1 April and 30 June 2026

Electricity rates

If you are on a standard variable tariff (default tariff) and pay for your electricity by Direct Debit, you will pay on average 24.67 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). The daily standing charge is 57.21 pence per day. This is based on the average across England, Scotland and Wales and includes VAT at 5%.

Gas rates

If you are on a standard variable tariff (default tariff) and pay for your gas by Direct Debit, you will pay on average 5.74 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). The daily standing charge is 29.09 pence per day. This is based on the average across England, Scotland and Wales and includes VAT at 5%.

Why energy prices are changing

The UK government recently announced that the funding for 2 environmental and social schemes will either end or be funded through general taxes from April 2026. Due to this change, customers will save an average of £150.

From April 2026, costs related to the Warm Home Discount will change from standing charges to the unit rate. Over the last 3 months, global wholesale energy prices have also gone down by £38 a year.

Network costs have increased by £66 a year because of the current price control framework (RIIO-3). The framework focuses on investment in upgrading energy infrastructure such as power and gas grids to help keep bills more stable in the future.

superkoopauk

Very interesting that despite the ECO/RO and WHD changes electricity standing charges are still going up in the majority of regions

tfhnota

Electric s/c up, gas s/c down in south west region (still on fix for a while) but some low cost s/c tariffs are coming from the likes of Octopus, so all is not lost yet for low users, whose only other option is to stop paying the bills. Actually had my lowest ever gas usage over winter due to relatively, albeit extremely wet, mild weather so the winter fuel payment has covered that cost plus a wedge towards the ridiculously high s/c's. Throw is some large savings on 5G broadband and not paying the TV licence, as well as cheaper vehicle and house insurance, then overall paying less than when inflation hit post Covid. Of the government average £150 reduction, though, I will be lucky to see a quid compared to my current fix, as an ultra low user.

landrovereditormartin

last night on Martins program someone asked “is the Octopus tracker better than the fixed Octopus tariff?”

He was going to answer the question but moved on without doing so.

Anyone know what the answer would have been?

bristolleedsfan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81898447#Comment_81898447

Anyone who can avoid using much electricity 4pm-7pm, EDF Freephase is a lot cheaper than Octopus Tracker

https://www.edfenergy.com/tariff-information-labels/freePhase

Sea_Shell

Does this include the "£150" promised off bills.

I understand fixes will get this rebate too, so to be able to compare eggs with eggs.

I ask as the new cap is about £2 per annum cheaper than my fix, BUT not if i'm due £150 off my fix

GingerTim

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81898497#Comment_81898497

As I understand it from the Ofgem press release, the '£150' is built in to unit price reduction - there is no rebate. See also the Guardian's explainer:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2026/feb/25/uk-energy-bills-cap-gold-price-markets-economy-obr-business-live-news-updates?page=with%3Ablock-699eb5338f08eeb4ea8a116a#block-699eb5338f08eeb4ea8a116a

Q. Why is this happening? 

Most of the reduction is because two policy costs have been taken off bills (ECO scheme ended, and for three years 75% of Renewable obligation will be shifted to general taxation). This is the government’s ‘£150 off bills’ (though in reality it’s a reduction in unit rates so the exact amount saved depends on usage).

molerat

Elec SC down here in N Scotland. We are now at the average rate rather than each time slowly creeping more above it. Just have to wait and see what happens to my fix now.

Grumpy_chap

I had understood from the budget announcement that the "£150 off bills" would be a reduction in the standing charge and any price cap moves would be separate / additional to that.

I must have misunderstood as we now have a price cap change less than the £150.

FrugaiMacDugal

Yes, the £150 headline was a bit misleading.

From GOV.UK,

Your energy bill from April: what’s changing.

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81898701#Comment_81898701

There never really was an £150, even in isolation, and it comes from costs levied on unit rates not via standing charges. It was a crass treasury average. And ignored the normal Ofgem cap metric tdcv based figures we are generally used to seeing 4x pa.

There have been several changes to add or subtract - since including govt / Ofgem policy change - like £108 over next 5 years on networks announced the week after budget. Not sure if todays £17 ex vat extra for capacity market scheme was in that £108 or whether the £66 on networks line fully from it.

And as the charges being moved to taxation (RO directly, eco replaced by extended warm homes plan iirc) were levied via unit rates and at cap level tge numbers suggested just c£133 for duel fuel homes at cap tdcv anyway.

From Ofgem letter table for DFDD basically got

old cap

- £130 on policy line

+ £66 new network costs

- £38 wholesale line savings (*)

as the main drivers from the op's first post highlighted changes and Ofgem letter summary

(*),But true supllier / generator wholesale savings of 9% reduced to 6% by £17 new costs of operating the capacity market scheme (for guaranteed electricity supply - arguably increasingly to maintain expensive back up for renewables when fail) . Without that underlying true c£55 (ex vat) wholesale saving - more than wiped out by new network costs - if instead raw energy energy prices flat - the saving would have been far less - around half the £117.

Plus lots of other small changes going on to get to the £117 actual saving - see Ofgem cap change summary letter (all to nearest £) so minus £5 suppliers costs, £1 ebit margin , £3 headroom and £6 vat

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-02/Summary-of-changes-to-energy-price-cap-1-April-to-30-June-2026.pdf

After the budget, sadly I am sure you wont be the only one out there who was expecting to see a full £150 - many here knew other costs would offset - but that £66 and £17 combined for network and guaranteed capacity - higher than I was expecting this year.