The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero extended the Energy Price Guarantee until the end of June 2023 and added rates for April to June 2023, according to an update to its regional rates publication dated 15 March 20231. The same page states that the EPG will remain in place until the end of March 20241.
The rates are the maximum unit rates suppliers can charge for tariffs subject to the Ofgem price cap, and suppliers can also charge less than these rates1. The publication covers standard variable tariff unit rates and applies to England, Scotland and Wales1.
The page's update history records the sequence of rate additions:
| Date of update | What was added |
|---|---|
| 7 October 2022 | First published |
| 29 November 2022 | Rates for January to March 2023 |
| 15 March 2023 | EPG extended to end of June 2023; rates for April to June 2023 |
| 26 May 2023 | Prepayment meter regional rates, July to September 2023 |
| 25 August 2023 | Prepayment meter regional rates and standing charges, October to December 2023 |
| 24 November 2023 | Prepayment meter regional rates and standing charges, January to March 2024 |
"The EPG has been extended until the end of June 2023. Rates for April to June 2023 added."
The publication does not set out the individual regional rate figures in the text captured here, and no separate announcement of the extension beyond the update note has been reported in these pages. The rates for April to June 2023 sit alongside the earlier January to March 2023 rates and the original October to December 2022 rates on the same publication1.
Why it matters for households
The EPG caps the unit rates a supplier can charge on a standard variable tariff, so its extension to the end of June 2023 kept a ceiling in place for a further three months on the default tariff that most households sit on when a fixed deal ends. Because the rates are regional, the maximum a household pays per unit depends on where in England, Scotland or Wales it is, and the same publication carries separate prepayment meter rates and standing charges1. The cap is a maximum rather than a fixed price, so a supplier charging below it leaves the household paying less than the published figure1. For a home weighing up its exposure to wholesale price movements, the guarantee's duration is the variable that matters: it determines how long the default tariff rate stays bounded before the standard price cap arrangements apply again. Northern Ireland is not covered by this publication, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales1.
What happens next
The publication states the EPG will remain in place until the end of March 20241. Subsequent updates to the same page added prepayment meter rates for July to September 2023, October to December 2023 and January to March 20241.