Ofgem holds April price cap steady — but standing charges creep up

Ofgem has confirmed the April–June 2026 energy price cap, holding the typical dual-fuel direct-debit bill broadly flat at £1,692 a year for a household using medium consumption. Gas unit rates stay at 6.04p/kWh and electricity at 24.50p/kWh.

But the detail is less comforting than the headline. Standing charges — the daily fee a household pays before using any energy — have crept up again, rising roughly £18 a year for the average home.

Who pays more under the new cap

The cap is an average, not a promise. The quarterly adjustment works against three groups in particular:

• Low-usage households who consume little but still pay the daily standing charge.
• Electric-heated homes where winter usage now attracts a noticeably steeper unit rate than gas-heated neighbours.
• Prepayment meter customers whose cap sits £35 above credit-meter customers despite the "levelisation" reform.

Fixed tariffs are the story now

For the first time since 2021, fixed 12-month tariffs from challenger suppliers are consistently cheaper than the cap — by 8 to 14% in some cases. If your current tariff is within spitting distance of the cap, switching has genuinely returned as a way to save £150+.

See today's cheapest mains-gas tariffs →