Quick answer: From 1 October to 31 December 2026, the Ofgem price cap for a typical dual fuel household paying by Direct Debit is £1,723 a year, up 4%. The average capped electricity unit rate is 26.32p per kWh with a standing charge of 54.83p a day, with no VAT. Gas drives most of the rise. If you charge an EV at home, a smart EV tariff is likely to beat the capped rate, but check the terms.
The headline numbers
According to Ofgem, the cap for a typical household using electricity and gas and paying by Direct Debit rose by £60 a year, or £5 a month, from £1,663 to £1,723.
Ofgem’s unit rates and standing charges for Direct Debit customers, averaged across England, Scotland and Wales, are:
| Fuel | 1 July to 30 September 2026 | 1 October to 31 December 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity unit rate | 26.11p per kWh | 26.32p per kWh |
| Electricity standing charge | 57.19p per day | 54.83p per day |
| Gas unit rate | 7.33p per kWh | 7.97p per kWh |
| Gas standing charge | 29.04p per day | 29.68p per day |
Ofgem says the figures are rounded and include 5% VAT on gas. There is no VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, so Ofgem warns that costs cannot be compared directly with previous periods.
Why electricity barely moved
Ofgem says higher wholesale gas prices are the main driver of the rise, with gas bills up 8%. The government’s removal of VAT from domestic electricity means electricity bills stay broadly stable.
As a result, Ofgem says households that do not use gas will see an increase of less than 1%. Without the VAT change, it says, the rise would have been around £45 higher.
Our VAT explainer covers what the VAT cut does and does not apply to.
What the cap actually limits
The price cap is not a cap on your total bill. It limits the unit rate and standing charge a supplier can charge on a default tariff, such as a standard variable tariff. The £1,723 figure is based on the energy use of a typical household, so if you use more energy, your bill will be higher.
Ofgem says you are covered by the cap if you are on a default tariff and pay by standard credit, Direct Debit, prepayment or an Economy 7 meter. You are not affected by these changes if you are on a fixed tariff. Ofgem estimates around 35% of households, about 11 million, are on fixed tariffs.
The actual rates depend on where you live and how you pay. Ofgem publishes a regional breakdown on its rates page.
What it means for charging at home
An electric car can add a lot to your electricity use, so the unit rate matters more to you than the headline £1,723.
As a simple illustration, here is what different amounts of home charging would cost at the average capped unit rate of 26.32p per kWh. These are not predictions of your bill; your use depends on your car and your mileage.
| Electricity used for charging | Cost at 26.32p per kWh |
|---|---|
| 1,000 kWh | £263.20 |
| 2,000 kWh | £526.40 |
| 3,000 kWh | £789.60 |
Your car’s efficiency, usually given in miles per kWh, turns mileage into kWh. Your car’s handbook or maker should give a figure, and real-world results vary with speed, weather and driving style.
Smart EV tariffs and the cap
Many suppliers offer tariffs with cheaper electricity at certain times, often overnight. Ofgem says the rates on multi-rate tariffs like Economy 7, taken together, cannot be more than the price cap.
Smart EV tariffs are usually not default tariffs, so the cap does not set their rates directly. As one example, Octopus advertised Intelligent Octopus Go smart charging for eligible cars from 7.6p per kWh on 19 October 2026. Octopus says the tariff is currently available on fixed rates only, with a £50 exit fee. We have not checked every supplier’s EV tariff, so compare offers and their exit terms before switching.
At 7.6p per kWh, the 2,000 kWh example above would cost £152, against £526.40 at the average capped rate. Check whether the cheap rate applies only to charging, or to your whole home at certain hours.
Ofgem is reviewing time-of-use pricing in the cap
On 12 October 2026 Ofgem published a call for input on how the cap should handle time-of-use tariffs. One of its options would set separate cap variants for different types of customer, for example an EV variant. Ofgem says it intends to consult again next year. See our news story for more.
When the cap changes next
Ofgem says it will announce the next cap levels by:
- 25 November 2026 for 1 January to 31 March 2027
- 23 February 2027 for 1 April to 30 June 2027
- 26 May 2027 for 1 July to 30 September 2027
The VAT-free period ends on 31 March 2027, so the April 2027 cap will be the first to reflect any return of VAT on electricity, unless the government changes the policy.
Ways to cut your costs
- Check your tariff. Ofgem’s Director General for Markets, Neil Kenward, said fixed tariffs were available at £100 or more below the October cap, and that many suppliers offer cheaper off-peak electricity to smart meter customers. Prices change, so check what is on offer now.
- Consider how you pay. He also said prepayment customers pay the lowest price cap rates and could save an average of about £45 compared with Direct Debit.
- Charge off-peak. If your tariff has a cheaper overnight rate, schedule charging for those hours. New smart chargers are set by default to avoid peak times; see our smart charger rules explainer.
- Get help if you are struggling. Ofgem urges anyone struggling with bills to contact their supplier first.
Sources
- Energy price cap will rise by 4% from October 2026, Ofgem, 26 August 2026
- Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, Ofgem
- Changes to energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2026, Ofgem
- Energy price cap: updating the time-of-use methodology, Ofgem, 12 October 2026
- Intelligent Octopus Go, Octopus Energy
Last checked: 19 October 2026
Image credit: LindaInpijn via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
