Do I need to do anything to be covered by the price cap?

What the cap does is set a maximum amount that suppliers can charge per unit of energy for customers on default tariffs, rather than fixing a total bill⁴. Ofgem reviews and sets the level every three months³. A separate cap is set for each of the 14 regions and applies throughout the region, with no breakdown below regional level, so the rates on a bill vary by where a household lives as well as by how it pays².

The practical consequence is that the only action a household can take on the cap itself is none. The decisions that change what is paid are about tariff type, payment method and consumption, not about eligibility. What follows sets out who is covered, what sits outside the cap, how the level is set, and where a complaint goes when something goes wrong.

No application, no registration, no claim

The cap is a condition of a supplier's licence, not a benefit a household signs up for. Ofgem sets it with reference to the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018, which requires licence conditions giving effect to the cap⁶. Because the obligation sits on the supplier, coverage follows from the tariff a household is on rather than from anything the household does.

That distinguishes the cap from the support payments households sometimes confuse it with. Cold Weather Payments are automatic, with no need to apply, and do not have to be paid back⁷. Energy rebates are applied automatically with no registration⁹. Cost of living payments are automatic, with nothing to claim⁹. Standards of Performance payments from network operators are made automatically by cheque to all customers affected, with no claim needed¹⁰. The pattern across all of them is the same: the mechanism is triggered by circumstances, not by an application.

For the cap specifically, the trigger is the tariff. A household that has agreed a fixed tariff with its supplier is outside the cap for the duration of that deal¹. A household that has never fixed, or whose fix has ended and which has rolled onto a standard variable tariff, is inside it. Nothing needs to be sent, confirmed or renewed.

What the cap covers and who sets it

The cap protects people who are on tariffs where the unit rate can go up or down depending on the energy market¹. Ofgem describes these as standard variable tariffs¹. Independent guidance describes the same mechanism as a limitation on the amount suppliers are allowed to charge customers on standard variable and prepayment tariffs¹¹.

The statutory basis is the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018, which requires Ofgem to put in place and maintain the licence conditions that give effect to the cap⁶. The cap therefore binds every domestic supplier licensed in Great Britain through the same conditions, which is why there is no supplier-by-supplier check for a household to carry out.

Several things sit outside it. Fixed tariffs, business energy contracts, heat networks and heating oil are not protected by the cap¹. A household with its own contract with an energy supplier, rather than a default arrangement, follows the supplier's complaints procedure instead, with details on the bill or the supplier's website¹². Households in Northern Ireland are in a separate market with separate arrangements, and the guidance there is framed around fuel suppliers' codes of practice rather than the Great Britain cap¹³.

How the cap level is set and reviewed

Ofgem reviews and sets a level for how much an energy supplier can charge for each unit of energy and daily standing charge every 3 months³. The level is not a single national number: a separate price cap is set for each of the 14 regions and applies throughout the region². Within a region there is no further breakdown, so two households in the same area on the same payment method face the same maximum rates.

The cap values published by Ofgem are exclusive of VAT, which is applied by suppliers to consumers' bills⁵. That matters when comparing a headline figure with what leaves a bank account. The temporary zero rate of VAT for qualifying supplies of domestic electricity in Great Britain ends on 31 March 2027, and standard 5% VAT applies again from 1 April 2027¹⁴.

The methodology itself is reviewed. Ofgem has decided not to make an adjustment to the consumption level used to set the cap at this stage, and intends to review it in the coming year¹⁵. The Act requires only one cap across the market, so allowances cannot differ by supplier size¹⁶. The benchmark review and the backwardation and deadband decisions set out how the mechanics are adjusted between periods⁸.

Prepayment meters and the separate prepayment cap

Prepayment customers are covered, and have been for longer than the default tariff cap has existed. Tariff caps for customers on prepayment meters were introduced in April 2017, ahead of the wider cap². The prepayment cap is set as its own figure rather than as a variant of the Direct Debit cap.

For cap period 15a, running from 1 October to 31 December 2025, the level of the prepayment price cap rose from £1,672 to £1,707 a year for a typical customer, a £35 or 2% increase compared with the previous level for cap period 14b⁴. Those figures are for a typical customer on prepayment, and the same regional and consumption caveats apply.

Where a prepayment meter is in place, the protections around topping up matter as much as the rate. A supplier must offer help if a customer cannot afford to top up, for example by giving extra credit in a vulnerable situation¹⁷. Any emergency credit received must be paid back when the customer next tops up, under an affordable payment plan agreed with the supplier¹⁸. Where a supplier installs a prepayment meter without permission, and a household is unhappy with how the complaint was handled, the Energy Ombudsman is the escalation route¹⁹.

If payments fall behind

Falling behind does not remove a household from the cap, but it changes the relationship with the supplier. A supplier must offer help when a customer cannot afford to top up, including extra credit in a vulnerable situation¹⁷. Emergency credit is repayable on the next top up, with a payment plan agreed between supplier and customer¹⁸.

In Northern Ireland, fuel suppliers' codes of practice say they should take a customer's ability to pay into account, and a complaint can go to the Utility Regulator if they do not¹³. That is a separate framework from the Great Britain cap and its supplier licence conditions.

There is also a compensation dimension. Where a payment has been missed, a supplier may owe an extra £40²⁰. Customer credit balances behave differently again: they would lag behind changes to bills such as an adjustment of the price cap, remaining high after a cap reduction until unwound²¹. That lag is a feature of how balances and cap changes interact, not a penalty.

Where to go with a complaint about your supplier

The route starts with the supplier. A household with its own contract can follow the supplier's complaints procedure, with details on the bill or the supplier's website¹². Consumer rights include a right to complain to the supplier and a right to a resolution, and if the response is unsatisfactory, the right to ask the Energy Ombudsman to investigate²².

The Ombudsman has conditions. A complainant must have complained to the supplier first, then wait eight weeks or receive a deadlock letter, have evidence including the date the complaint was raised, and confirm the supplier name matches the bill²³. Where a dispute is raised against a named supplier, the complainant must have checked it is the correct supplier, complained already, and have sufficient evidence including the date the complaint was raised²⁴.

Ofgem is not the route for an individual case. It regulates suppliers, and its formal enforcement powers include opening investigations, making orders and imposing penalties in response to non-compliance and suspected non-compliance²⁵. Its published contact address for price cap policy matters is RetailPriceRegulation@ofgem.gov.uk²⁶. For consumer matters more broadly, a complaint can be referred to local Trading Standards Officers, who may then investigate on the consumer's behalf²⁷.