Policy paper

Energy Price Guarantee

Updated 15 March 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022

Update: 15 March 2023

The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will be extended at the same level for an additional 3 months to the end of June 2023.

We have published new unit rates for electricity and gas for the period April to June 2023.

The EPG protects customers from increases in energy costs by limiting the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy used.

The EPG has been extended for an additional 3 months at its current level from April to the end of June. This will bring a typical household energy bill for dual-fuel gas and electricity down to:

  • around £2,500 per year in Great Britain
  • around £2,109 per year in Northern Ireland

The energy industry is working to update customer tariffs and notify customers of any new rates as soon as practically possible. Due to the limited number of days before 1 April, there may be implementation delays affecting a small number of customers.

If your tariff was not updated in time, your energy supplier will provide the appropriate correction for any 1 April inaccuracies as soon as possible after this date.

Check your supplier’s website for the latest information if you have any concerns about how these changes might affect you.

The scheme operates, for the most part, in the same way for households across the whole of the UK. There are a few differences for those in Northern Ireland because of the different way the Northern Ireland energy market operates.

How the EPG is applied to energy bills in Great Britain

The EPG reduces (compared to the undiscounted price of energy) the amount you can be charged per unit of gas or electricity, to an annual equivalent of around £2,500 for a typical household in Great Britain.

However, due to the end of the Energy Bill Support Scheme in March 2023, some customers will see an increase in their energy bills from April.

For a typical household using direct debit, some customers could see their monthly payments increase by around £67. Whether you see this increase will depend on whether your supplier provided the £400 of Energy Bill Support Scheme funding as an account credit or a reduction in direct debit payments. Energy bills will still be higher or lower depending on how much energy is used - for example energy bills will still be lower for in a well-insulated home that uses less energy.

All households will continue to pay less for their energy bills than they would have otherwise with no government intervention.

By the end of June, the EPG will have saved a typical household in Great Britain around £1,100 since the scheme began in October, compared to undiscounted energy prices under the price cap.

How you’ll get the discount

You do not need to apply, and there is no need to contact your energy supplier, the discount is automatic.

If you get a message telling you that you need to apply, or asking for your bank or credit card details, this could be a scam. You can report messages you think are suspicious.

Ofgem Price Cap

From 1 April to 30 June, the Ofgem Energy Price Cap level is £3,280 (annual equivalent). This is what consumers would pay if the Energy Price Guarantee were not in place.

Over this period, the EPG will continue to reduce a typical household bill to £2,500 (annual equivalent).

EPG rates in Great Britain

The rates listed below are average unit prices, but the specific unit rates each customer sees will vary by region and payment type. See the full list of rates by region and payment type:

If you’re on a standard variable tariff

The average unit price for dual fuel customers on standard variable tariffs subject to Ofgem’s price cap, paying by direct debit, is limited to (including VAT):

  • 33.2p/kWh (pence per kilowatt hour) for electricity and 10.3p/kWh for gas, from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2023

If you’re on a variable tariff not subject to the price cap

Variable tariffs which were not subject to Ofgem’s price cap (which are known as having a derogation), for instance certain 100% renewable energy tariffs, will receive the full unit rate discount (excluding VAT):

  • from April to June 2023 reductions of 16.6p/kWh for electricity and 2.2p/kWh for gas[footnote 1]
  • from January to March 2023 reductions of 31.8p/kWh for electricity and 6.4p/kWh for gas
  • from October to December 2022, unit rate discount of 17p/kWh for electricity and 4.2p/kWh for gas

If originally priced at a higher level than Ofgem’s price cap, then the resulting unit rates will be above the standard variable unit rates.

If you’re on a pre-payment meter and variable contract

Prepayment meter customers on variable contracts will continue to receive the full unit rate discount (excluding VAT):

  • from April to June 2023, 16.6p/kWh for electricity and 2.2p/kWh for gas
  • from October to December 2022, 17p/kWh for electricity and 4.2p/kWh for gas
  • from January to March 2023, 31.8p/kWh for electricity and 6.4p/kWh for gas

The EPG will be applied to the rate you pay for each unit of energy, so the money you put on the meter will last longer than would otherwise have been the case this winter.

There is no need to apply and you won’t need any vouchers for the EPG. The discount will be applied automatically by your supplier.

From 1 July 2023, customers on pre-payment meters will be compensated through the EPG for the higher cost of their energy compared to direct debit customers. This means from 1 July a typical customer on a pre-payment meter will pay the same amount as an equivalent customer paying by direct debit until 31 March 2024, saving around £45 a year on energy bills.

If you’re on a fixed rate tariff

Fixed rate tariff customers will have the same support as those on variable tariffs, but rates are subject to a ‘floor’ price (the minimum rate the price per unit will be discounted to). The floor prices exist because some people will have fixed at much lower prices some time ago, meaning their payments will already be below the level set by the EPG.

For fixed rate tariffs that currently have unit rates above the floor price, these unit price reductions apply (excluding VAT):

  • up to 16.6p/kWh for electricity and 2.2p/kWh for gas from April to June 2023
  • up to 31.8p/kWh for electricity and 6.4p/kWh for gas from January to March 2023
  • up to 17p/kWh for electricity and 4.2p/kWh for gas for October to December 2022

The floor unit prices vary by region and payment type but for electricity average at 34p/kWh and for gas average at 10.3p/kWh for direct debit customers in Great Britain with typical energy consumption. These floor prices remain unchanged from 1 October 2022 through to 30 June 2023.

Customers on fixed rate tariffs that are already below the floor unit rate will remain on those low rates but will not receive a further discount for the duration of their fixed term.

Some consumers who fixed at very high rates will receive the full unit rate discount (excluding VAT) of:

  • 16.6 p/kWh for electricity and 2.2p/kWh for gas from April to June 2023
  • 31.8p/kWh of electricity and 6.4p/kWh of gas for January to March 2023
  • 17p/kWh of electricity and 4.2p/kWh of gas between October and December 2022

However, given the higher starting point, their high fixed rate tariffs may still have a unit rate that is above the EPG rates.

For consumers on fixed-term default tariffs, the EPG applies in the same way as other fixed rate tariffs.

Any transfer to a different tariff is a matter for suppliers.

Standing charges

Between April and June 2023 average standing charges for customers on default tariffs will remain capped in line with the levels set (in Great Britain) by Ofgem in their price cap, at 50.4p per day for electricity and 27.7p per day for gas, excluding VAT, for a typical dual fuel customer paying by direct debit.

How the EPG will be applied to energy bills in Northern Ireland

The scheme in Northern Ireland operates broadly as described for Great Britain, however there are some differences because of the different way the electricity and gas markets operate in Northern Ireland.

The EPG will be extended at the same level for an additional 3 months until the end of June 2023.

However, like in Great Britain, the amount of EPG discount you see on your bill will reduce. This is because across the Northern Ireland market, the underlying costs for gas and electricity are coming down, so less government support is needed. The discount is also impacted by the ending of additional backdated support.

The Northern Ireland energy industry is working to update customer tariffs to reflect the revised EPG discount. This will come into effect from the 1 April and will be applied directly to your energy tariff.

Due to the limited number of days before 1 April, there may be some circumstances in which customers do not receive notification from their supplier of tariff changes before this date.

Check your supplier’s website for the latest information if you have any concerns about how these changes might affect you.

EPG rates in Northern Ireland

Backdated support

The EPG scheme was introduced later in Northern Ireland (on 1 November rather than 1 October as in Great Britain). To make up for this, households in Northern Ireland received an additional discount from November (excluding VAT) of:

  • 2.91p/kWh for electricity
  • 0.61p/kWh for gas

This additional backdated support will end in March 2023. This means households will see a further decrease in the discount they receive, and an increase in energy prices from April. A typical household using electricity and mains gas will see their energy bill increase from £1,952 to £2,109 (annual equivalent).

Unit rate discount

  • from April to June 2023, up to 3.8p/kWh for electricity and 2.6p/kWh for gas[footnote 2]
  • from January 2023 to March 2023, up to 13.6p/kWh for electricity and 3.9p/kWh for gas
  • from October 2022 to December 2022, up to 19.9p/kWh for electricity and 4.8p/kWh for gas

Energy prices are not capped in Northern Ireland and energy suppliers have the flexibility to set their tariffs independently to reflect their costs of operating. Regardless of where a supplier sets their tariffs, these EPG discounts will apply, but are subject to a ‘floor’ price (the minimum a household must pay) of 1p/kWh.

As in Great Britain, the EPG in Northern Ireland reduces the amount households pay per unit of gas or electricity, so your exact bill amount will continue to be influenced by how much energy you use.

If you don’t get support directly from the EPG

Some people will not get support directly from the guarantee because of the way they get their energy or pay for their bills. In these cases, support should be passed through to you in other ways. Find out more:

You can also read more about the pass-through requirements:

Other help

Other energy affordability schemes

The EPG is in addition to a number of other ways the government is helping people with their energy bills.

Find out about help you can get with your energy bills.

If you’re struggling to pay your energy bill

You may be able to get other kinds of support.

Get help with your energy bills.

  1. Energy billing often works to 3 decimal places. The discount rates to 3 decimal places in Great Britain will be 16.570p/kWh for electricity and 2.185p/kWh for gas. ↩

  2. Energy billing often works to 3 decimal places. The discount rates to 3 decimal places in Northern Ireland will be 3.770p/kWh for electricity and 2.603p/kWh for gas. ↩

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