The price cap will rise by £149 in October, the second increase this year, yet millions of households remain on expensive standard variable tariffs. A new analysis, as reported by Chard and Ilminster News, puts the gap between the cheapest fixed deal and the default cap at £221 per year, enough to cover a quarter of a typical home’s annual gas bill.
Who qualifies, and who doesn’t
Fixed tariffs are not available to everyone. Ofgem data shows that households with an EPC rating of D or below are often excluded from the best fixed deals, particularly in areas with high standing charges. Suppliers now routinely check EPC certificates before quoting; a D-rated property in the South West might see offers 15-20% higher than the advertised headline rate. The catch is that fixing your tariff locks you in for 12-24 months, if the price cap falls, you cannot switch without paying exit fees, typically £30-50 per fuel.
Yet the calculus is clear. Cornwall Insight forecasts the cap will rise again in January 2025, by another £80-100. Fixing now at, say, 22p/kWh for electricity and 6p/kWh for gas, against a current cap of 24.5p and 6.2p, saves money even if the cap drops slightly. The Energy Saving Trust advises households to use comparison sites that check EPC data upfront, avoiding wasted applications.
What it costs a typical 3-bed semi
Take a 3-bed semi in Manchester using 2,900 kWh of electricity and 12,000 kWh of gas per year. On the standard variable tariff, the annual bill is approximately £1,560 at current cap rates. The cheapest fixed deal available to a D-rated property would be around £1,339, a saving of £221. But if that home upgrades to a C rating (new loft insulation, cavity wall fill, double glazing), it might qualify for a further £60-80 discount from some suppliers, bringing the total saving to over £300.
What this misses is the standing charge. Fixed tariffs often have higher daily standing charges, sometimes by 10-15p per day, which can add £36-55 per year. Net saving after that adjustment: closer to £170-185 for a typical household. Still worth doing, but not the headline figure.
How to act before winter
Switching takes 2-4 weeks. Start now. The cheapest fixed deals are from Octopus Energy and E.ON Next, both offering 12-month fixes at around 21.5p/kWh for electricity and 5.8p/kWh for gas, subject to EPC checks. Use the Ofgem-accredited comparison tool at gov.uk/compare-energy. Have your EPC certificate number ready, you can find it at gov.uk/find-energy-certificate.
If you are in a low-income household or on prepayment meter, check if you qualify for the Warm Home Discount (£150 off electricity bills) or the Energy Company Obligation (free insulation or boiler replacement). These do not affect tariff switching. The deadline for WHD applications is 31 October 2024.
Households on standard variable tariffs can switch online from 1 September. Eligibility for the cheapest fixes closes on 31 March 2025 for most suppliers. Do not wait until the January cap rise, by then the cheapest deals will have been pulled.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Switching tariffs does not change your EPC rating. However, some suppliers offer lower rates to homes with higher EPC ratings (C or above). If you are on a grant scheme like ECO4, fixing your tariff may reduce your monthly payments but does not affect your grant status.
Yes, but the choice is narrower. Only a few suppliers (notably Octopus and British Gas) offer fixed tariffs to prepayment customers, and the rates are typically 5-8% higher than direct debit fixes. Check the prepayment comparison tool on Ofgem's website.
