The End Fuel Poverty Coalition published an updated profit tracker on 1 October 2024 stating that 20 energy companies have made £483 billion in profits since the start of the energy bills crisis1. The tracker covers declared profits for 2024 so far of £9 billion, plus £77 billion of interim figures1.
The coalition says changes to the price cap that took effect in October mean suppliers can make an additional 11% in profits on every standard variable tariff1. Its analysis puts supplier profits allowed through the cap at about £1.2 billion over the next 12 months, which it says would be enough to cover the cost of Winter Fuel Payments for almost all pensioners1. The coalition cites Ofgem's October price cap decision, which set an EBIT allowance of £44 per standard variable tariff customer per year from 1 October 2024, and Ofgem's figure of 27 million customers on such tariffs1.
The coalition also notes a further 1.2% increase in the cap due to come into force from 1 January 20251. It says around a quarter of what is spent on heating UK homes is wasted because the UK has some of the worst insulated homes in Europe1.
"As recently as October, changes in the price cap meant that suppliers will be able to make an additional 11% in profits on every standard variable tariff."
The tracker examines a sample of 20 firms, from producers such as Equinor and Shell to grid companies such as National Grid, UK Power Networks and National Gas Transmission, and suppliers such as British Gas. It excludes supply chains and market trading firms1. The £483 billion figure therefore covers a wider group than household suppliers alone, and the coalition does not break out how much of it comes from domestic supply. The £1.2 billion estimate is the coalition's own calculation from the Ofgem allowance and customer numbers, not an Ofgem figure1.
Why it matters for households
The cap sets the maximum a supplier can charge per unit of gas and electricity, and the allowance within it is the margin a supplier is permitted to earn on a standard variable tariff. A higher allowance does not by itself change the headline cap level, but it does mean more of what a household pays on a default tariff is retained as supplier profit rather than covering wholesale and network costs. For a home on a default tariff, that margin sits inside the bill regardless of how much energy is used, and it applies whether or not the household has switched. Households on fixed deals are not covered by the cap in the same way, so the change does not apply to them. The coalition's wider point is that money spent on heating poorly insulated homes is lost to the property rather than retained, which affects how far any given bill goes towards keeping a home warm.
What happens next
The next cap change takes effect on 1 January 2025, with a 1.2% increase reported by the coalition1. Ofgem's announcement dates and the levels set at each review are set out in the price cap history.
Sources1 cited
- Energy firm profits top £483 billion since start of crisis - End Fuel Poverty Coalition, endfuelpoverty.org.uk