Senior Energy & Utilities Analyst
24 February 2026
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The price most households pay for gas and electricity is predicted to fall by 7%ish on average from 1 April. This comes as energy regulator Ofgem is due to announce the latest Energy Price Cap rates at 7am on Wednesday 25 February – we’ll update this news story as soon as the exact figures are confirmed.
But even if the Price Cap does fall as expected, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis says “it’s still pants” and you should “ditch it if you can”. That’s because the top fixed deals undercut it by around 14%, and if you fix now, unprecedentedly your fixed rates will drop in April too.
How the Price Cap works and what’s expected to change from 1 April
The Energy Price Cap sets a limit on the maximum amount suppliers can charge households on standard or default variable tariffs (essentially everyone not currently on a fix) for each unit of gas and electricity they use. It also sets the maximum daily Standing Charges (what you pay to have your home connected to the gas and electricity grids). But there’s no actual cap on what you pay, so if you use more, you pay more.
The Price Cap changes every three months. The current Price Cap for a typical dual-fuel household is £1,758 a year for those paying by Direct Debit, and this is predicted to fall by around £117 from 1 April.
The expected fall is mainly due to the ‘£150’ Autumn Budget energy bill cut
In last November’s Autumn Budget, the Government announced it would reduce household energy bills by ‘£150’ a year by cutting some underlying structural costs – including reducing the amount households pay towards the ‘Renewable Obligation’ (and moving costs into general taxation), and ending the ‘Energy Company Obligation’ scheme.
These changes will be factored into April’s Price Cap. In fact, the Price Cap had been predicted to rise from April before this announcement.
If you’re on a fix, unusually, the savings from these costs will also be passed on, so you should see your prices fall from April too – see ‘Will your energy fix be cut from April?’ for full info.
Standing Charges are finally set to fall
In addition, the Government announced earlier this month that it would lower the cost of Standing Charges by shifting costs associated with the Warm Home Discount away from Standing Charges and on to energy unit rates instead – the amount you pay for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy used.
Standing Charges – which you pay just for the facility of having gas and electricity, even if you don’t use any – currently make up around £330 of the average annual energy bill. We’ve long called for these charges to be lowered, as they penalise lower-use households and those looking to cut their usage.
How to check if you’re on a Price-Capped tariff
If you’re not on a fix or special deal, you are likely to be on the Price Cap. These are firms’ standard default consumer tariffs, often called ‘Standard Variable’ or ‘Flexible’ tariffs.
British Gas Standard Variable | EDF Standard (Variable) | E.on Next Next Flex | Octopus Flexible Octopus | Ovo Simpler Energy | Scottish Power Standard.
If you don’t know for sure, assume that you, like two thirds of homes, are probably on a Price-Capped tariff.
You can save 14% compared to the current Price Cap by fixing
The cheapest year-long standalone fixes right now are about 14% LESS than the current Cap, so if you get a cheap fix now you can lock in at a lower rate for a year, get price certainty and save instantly. Your cheapest fix depends on where you live and how much energy you use, so do a comparison.
Remember though, the price that savings comparison sites (including our Cheap Energy Club) will show now are compared to the current Cap, not the one it’s expected to fall to in April.
That said, it’s worth noting that most fixes are expected to fall by a similar amount to the Price Cap from April, as the energy savings announced in the Autumn Budget are expected to be passed on to fixes too, which means the current level of savings you’ll see are likely to be around the same come April.
Options other than fixing
Those with low usage should consider looking at EDF’s special tracker deal, which discounts up to £100 off the annual Standing Charge (with low usage, that’s a bigger proportionate saving). Meanwhile, sophisticated users could look at (or likely already know about) time of use tariffs.