The April 2026 energy price cap will cut the typical dual-fuel bill by roughly £75 a year, the third consecutive quarterly reduction. Ofgem confirmed the new level on 25 February, setting the cap for a household with typical consumption at £1,738, down from £1,813 in the current period.
As reported by Uswitch, the headline drop masks a persistent problem: standing charges. The daily standing charge for electricity will rise to 60.99p in April, up from 60.10p today, while gas standing charges nudge down only slightly to 31.67p. That means a household on typical usage will pay about £338 a year in standing charges alone, roughly 19% of the total bill. For a one-person flat using half the average, standing charges eat up nearly 40% of the bill.
Who gains, and who loses, from the April cap
The cap’s design rewards households that can cut consumption. Unit rates for electricity fall to 25.79p per kWh (from 27.03p) and gas to 6.34p per kWh (from 6.70p). Every kilowatt-hour saved now delivers a slightly bigger cash saving than it did three months ago. But the fixed standing charge means the lowest-usage households, often pensioners, single occupants, or those in well-insulated flats, see a smaller proportional benefit from the cap reduction.
Ofgem’s own data shows that 4.3 million households are in fuel poverty in England alone. For them, a £75 annual saving is welcome but not transformative. The structural issue remains: network costs, policy levies, and the transition to net zero are increasingly loaded onto standing charges rather than unit rates, a shift energy suppliers have lobbied for because it stabilises their revenue. The regulator has consulted on rebalancing these costs, but no changes are expected before 2027.
What this means for your EPC and retrofit decisions
For homeowners considering eco upgrades, the April cap reinforces a key financial truth: reducing total energy demand is the only durable hedge against both unit-rate volatility and rising standing charges. A typical 3-bed semi with an EPC rating of D uses about 12,000 kWh of gas and 3,000 kWh of electricity per year. At April’s unit rates, that’s roughly £760 for gas and £775 for electricity, plus £338 in standing charges. Cut gas use by 40% through loft insulation (costing about £500-£700 for a typical DIY install), cavity wall insulation (£1,000-£2,500), and draught-proofing (£200-£400), and you save about £300 a year on gas alone. The payback period: two to four years.
Solar PV changes the arithmetic further. A 4 kWp system in southern England generates roughly 3,500 kWh annually, offsetting about £900 of electricity at current unit rates, and that saving grows if unit rates rise again. With installation costs around £5,000-£7,000 and the Smart Export Guarantee paying 15p per kWh exported, typical payback is eight to twelve years. After that, the electricity is effectively free, insulating the household from cap changes entirely.
The catch: standing charges don’t reward self-generation
This is the uncomfortable truth the cap reveals. Even if you generate all your own electricity with solar and battery storage, you still pay the 60.99p daily standing charge, about £223 a year for electricity alone. That charge covers grid connection, network maintenance, and policy costs. It is not going away. The only way to reduce it is to switch to a tariff with a lower standing charge, but such tariffs are rare and usually come with higher unit rates. The Energy Saving Trust advises that for most households, a standard variable tariff under the cap remains the cheapest option, but that could change as more time-of-use tariffs emerge.
For heat pump owners, the picture is slightly better. The April cap keeps electricity unit rates high relative to gas, but a well-installed heat pump with a seasonal coefficient of performance of 3.5 delivers heat at roughly 7.4p per kWh, comparable to a gas boiler at 6.3p per kWh when standing charges are factored in. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant of £7,500 reduces upfront cost, and the lower carbon intensity improves EPC ratings from D to C or B in many homes.
What to do before the April cap takes effect
Households on standard variable tariffs do not need to switch, the cap applies automatically. But those on fixed deals ending in March should compare new fixes now. Uswitch data shows some 12-month fixes are priced below the April cap level, offering certainty for a year. For homeowners planning retrofits, the April cap shows every kilowatt-hour saved compounds over time. Book a free energy advice call from the Energy Saving Trust, check your loft insulation depth, and draught-proof windows and doors before next winter. The April cap gives you £75 back. A weekend of DIY insulation could give you ten times that over the next decade.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The electricity standing charge rises slightly to 60.99p per day, while the gas standing charge falls marginally to 31.67p. Combined, the annual standing charge for a typical dual-fuel household will be about £338, roughly the same as the current period. The cap only reduces unit rates.
No. Standing charges are fixed daily fees for grid connection and network maintenance, regardless of how much energy you use or generate. Solar panels and heat pumps reduce your unit consumption and lower your variable costs, but you still pay the daily standing charge. To reduce it, you would need to switch to a tariff with a lower standing charge, which is uncommon under the current cap.
