The Government's Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) has ended, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said, ahead of Ofgem's winter price cap announcement on Friday 25 August at 07001. The scheme had kept the average bill 16 per cent below the Energy Price Guarantee rate1. Ofgem's announcement will set the cap applying to household bills from 1 October 20231.
The coalition, which compiled average unit costs and standing charges for direct debit customers, said the figures it published were based on price cap prices in effect on 16 August and would be updated after Ofgem's announcement1. It also noted that Ofgem is changing the typical domestic consumption values used to calculate the quoted "average bill", because average energy consumption has fallen due to better energy efficiency and rising energy costs1. Households comparing this winter with last will therefore need to look at unit costs and standing charges rather than headline averages1.
Measured against earlier winters, the coalition's figures show:
| Comparison | Gas | Electricity |
|---|---|---|
| Unit cost vs winter 2020/21 | up 115% | up 141% |
| Standing charge vs winter 2020/21 | up 6% | up 117% |
| Unit cost vs winter 2021/22 | up 85% | up 45% |
| Standing charge vs winter 2021/22 | up 11% | up 113% |
| Unit cost vs winter 2022/23 | down 24% | down 7% |
| Standing charge vs winter 2022/23 | up 2% | up 14% |
The coalition said unit costs have come down from last winter but standing charges have risen, and that people will not feel any reduction in unit costs because the EBSS money has been taken away1. It added that the prepayment meter premium, which added around 10 per cent to those customers' bills, will be eradicated for some customers, with prepayment users paying roughly the same as direct debit customers, while standard credit customers will pay about 10 per cent more than direct debit and prepayment customers this winter1. The data applies to England, Scotland and Wales only, and uses Great Britain averages1. The coalition also cited new evidence from the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford revealing errors in Ofgem's data sets for winter 2020/21 unit costs, which have been revised1.
"Looking at a year on year comparison, any declines in wholesale costs are almost cancelled out by the end of the Government's Energy Bills Support Scheme which means bills stay at similar levels to last year while people have less ability to pay these stubbornly high prices."
Why it matters for households
The end of the Energy Bills Support Scheme removes a fixed reduction that applied to bills through last winter, so a lower unit rate does not translate into a lower total for a household that received it. The coalition's position is that the two effects largely cancel out, leaving bills at similar levels to last year1. Standing charges, which are paid regardless of how much energy a home uses, have risen on both fuels compared with last winter and are substantially higher than in winter 2020/211. That structure matters for energy independence at home: a household that cuts consumption reduces unit costs but not the fixed daily charge, and the coalition notes electricity standing charges have doubled since winter 2020/211. The Energy Price Guarantee that capped unit rates has itself closed, and the coalition points to record household energy debt levels alongside record prices for other essentials1. Households in Northern Ireland are not covered by these figures, which apply to England, Scotland and Wales only1.
What happens next
Ofgem will announce the winter price cap at 0700 on Friday 25 August, applying to household bills from 1 October 20231. The coalition said its figures, based on prices in effect on 16 August, would be updated after that announcement, and that forecasts suggest the values will vary slightly from 1 October1.
Sources1 cited
- What will Ofgem's winter price cap show?, endfuelpoverty.org.uk