UK gas prices have risen to the highest levels since December 2022, figures published on 12 October 2026 showed. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) responded the same day, with energy analyst Jess Ralston saying the UK remains exposed to instability abroad because of its reliance on gas for heating.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition reported on 9 September 2026 that the UK wholesale price of gas had hit a fresh high last seen in December 2022, with the wholesale cost of fossil gas approaching 200p per therm as of 1300 that day. It attributed the surge to Qatar suspending LNG shipments and European storage sites sitting below the seasonal average with the heating season approaching. Heating oil prices exceeded previous five-year highs set at the start of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
The coalition said Ofgem had confirmed that energy bills will increase for a majority of customers from 1 October 2026 as gas unit rates rise 27 per cent year on year, the highest level since early 2023. Electricity unit rates are being held roughly stable, helped by the Government cutting VAT on electricity. The next price cap period reflecting these prices will be announced in late November and come into force on 1 January 2027.
The coalition also cited analysis finding that surging oil and gas prices since the start of the US-Iran conflict on 28 February had added an estimated £5 billion in higher gas and electricity costs, with a handful of firms making £6bn on UK operations in the first six months of 2026.
Ralston said reports suggested Government support for heat pumps could be cut, which she said risked households being unable to switch from gas boilers.
She added that more North Sea drilling would not shield people from internationally-set gas prices, and that gas will increasingly be imported as the North Sea continues its inevitable decline.
"The only lasting way to improve energy security is to use less gas, through better insulated homes, more heat pumps and clean British power."
Why it matters for households
Wholesale gas prices feed through to domestic bills with a lag, and the two sources here describe that chain at different points. The coalition's account ties the September wholesale high to the 1 October 2026 gas unit rate rise of 27 per cent year on year, and to a January 2027 cap period still to be calculated on prices of that kind. Households using heating oil, or on some heat networks, are not covered by the price cap and the coalition said they may see increases sooner.
For a home's energy independence, the two sources point in the same direction on one point: exposure to gas prices is the mechanism through which international events reach UK bills. Ralston's argument is that insulation, heat pumps and domestic clean power reduce that exposure; the coalition's is that the link between gas prices and electricity bills could be broken, alongside debt relief and targeted support. Neither source reports a decision on heat pump support, only that cuts have been reported. The ECIU's UK Domestic Energy Prices Over Time guide tracks how wholesale prices have moved, and Wholesale Gas and Electricity Prices and Why Bills Change sets out the link between the two.
What happens next
The next price cap period reflecting these prices will be announced in late November 2026 and come into force on 1 January 20272. The coalition said the Chancellor should use the Budget to break the link between gas prices and electricity bills, fund debt relief and targeted support for households this winter, and back long-term energy efficiency measures2. No date for that Budget is given in the sources. The ECIU press release does not set out next steps beyond its call to use less gas1. The Price Cap History: Every Level Since 2019 and When the Next Is Announced page lists past cap levels and announcement dates.