Changes to energy price cap between 1 January and 31 March 2025
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Every 3 months we review and set a level for how much an energy supplier can charge for each unit of energy and daily standing charge, under the price cap.
From 1 January to 31 March 2025 the price for energy for a typical household who use electricity and gas and pay by Direct Debit will go up by 1.2% to £1,738 per year. This is because wholesale prices remain high due to global factors.
This is 10% (£190) per year lower than the price cap set from 1 January to 31 March 2024 (£1,928).
You are covered by the energy price cap if you pay for your electricity and gas by either:
- standard credit (payment made when you get your electricity and gas bill)
- Direct Debit
- prepayment meter
- Economy 7 (E7) meter
The actual amount you pay will depend on how much energy your household uses, where you live and the type of meter you have.
Energy price cap rates 1 January to 31 March 2025
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 24.86 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). The daily standing charge is 60.97 pence per day. This is based on the average across England, Scotland and Wales and includes VAT.
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 6.34 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). The daily standard charge is 31.65 pence per day. This is based on the average across England, Scotland and Wales and includes VAT.
Costs included in the energy price cap
The level of the energy price cap is made up of different costs, for example the wholesale cost of gas and electricity, costs to supply energy on the network and VAT. These costs are split within the energy price cap between the unit rate and the standing charge.
Read about typical household energy use and how the energy price cap is calculated on our Average gas and electricity use explained page.
View and compare 1 January to 31 March 2025 and 1 October to 31 December 2024 energy price cap standing charges and unit rates by region.
You can also get and compare all the energy price cap (default tariff) levels.
You could pay less for your energy by changing your energy tariff or payment type. Find out if you can change your tariff and how to switch energy supplier.
Next energy price cap review
We review and set a level on how much an energy supplier can charge for each unit of energy including the standing charge every 3 months. The levels for the period 1 April to 30 June 2025 will be published by 25 February 2025.