Confused.com updated its Energy Price Guarantee guide on 27 June 2025 to state that the scheme is no longer operating and that households now pay unit rates set by Ofgem's price cap1. The guide, written by Alice Campion, carries the line that the information "should be used for reference only"1.
The Energy Price Guarantee was introduced by the government during the energy crisis as what the guide describes as effectively a second cap, subsidised to prevent customers paying as much as £4,000 per year1. Once wholesale prices fell below a certain level, the price cap came back into force1. The guide states plainly:
"The EPG is no longer in effect and is unlikely to come back into force."
On what households pay now, the guide says unit prices are regulated by Ofgem's price cap, and that standing charges remain capped at the levels Ofgem sets1. Standing charges are described as a fixed daily amount covering the cost of supplying a property, payable regardless of how much energy is used1. The guide states this applies to both fixed and standard variable rate tariffs1.
The treatment of tariffs differs. For standard variable rate customers, the guide says the average energy unit price is capped by the price cap1. For fixed tariff customers it says:
"Customers on fixed tariffs were not affected by the price cap and subsequently not by the Energy Price Guarantee."
The guide does not set out current capped unit rates or standing charge figures, directing readers to its separate energy price cap guide instead1. No current price cap level, unit rate or standing charge number appears in the updated text.
Why it matters for households
The practical effect is that the government subsidy that sat behind household energy bills during the crisis has ended, and the default position for a household that has not chosen a fixed deal is the price cap set by Ofgem1. That cap limits unit rates and standing charges on a standard variable tariff rather than capping the total bill, so what a home pays still depends on how much energy it uses1.
For a household's energy independence, the distinction between tariff types is the operative one. A fixed tariff sits outside the price cap and outside the former guarantee, so its rates are set by the contract rather than by the regulator1. A standard variable tariff moves with the cap1. The guide gives no figures for either, so the current rates by nation, payment method or supplier have not been reported here.
The guide also notes that the EPG is unlikely to return, which means the reference material it contains describes a closed scheme rather than an active one1. Households on a standard variable tariff remain covered by the cap without needing to act, according to the guide's account of how the cap applies1.
What happens next
No future review date, cap announcement or legislative step is given in the updated guide1. The only dated element is the update itself, on 27 June 20251.
Sources1 cited
- The energy price guarantee - Confused.com, confused.com