Typical household gas bills will be 33% higher from Thursday 1 October than they were in April, an increase of some £200 per year, according to analysis by the thinktank Nesta1. Household electricity bills will have risen only 4% over the same period, which Nesta attributes to growing generation from clean-energy sources1.
The divergence follows a surge in wholesale gas prices. Gas averaged 90p per therm from 2023 until the start of this year, roughly three times above 2019 prices, then averaged 134p per therm after war broke out in the Middle East in March1. In September 2026 to date, gas prices have averaged 189p per therm, their highest level since the global energy crisis in 20221. Carbon Brief analysis found that record wind and solar generation, up 14% year on year, avoided the need for gas imports worth £5.9bn since the start of the Hormuz crisis, equivalent to more than 100 additional tanker deliveries of liquefied natural gas1. Wind and solar supplied a record 41% share of UK electricity in 2026 to date, against 25% from gas, while gas-fired generation fell nearly 10% year on year1.
Ofgem confirmed the overall price cap position on 26 August, announcing a 4% rise from 1 October, meaning a typical household pays £1,723 a year for its energy2. National Energy Action said the cap would reach a three-year high, and that total energy debt stands at £6 billion, having grown every quarter since autumn 20222. Ofgem also reduced the Typical Domestic Consumption Values used to express the cap, to 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas per year, down from 2,700 kWh and 11,500 kWh, to reflect lower consumption2.
"the link between electricity and gas prices has already begun to break"
Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said energy bills were high because the UK is "exposed to global fossil-fuel markets", and prime minister Andy Burnham said he had asked her to speed up breaking the link between what households pay for power and the international gas market1.
| Measure | Change from April to 1 October |
|---|---|
| Typical household gas bill | Up 33%, about £200 per year1 |
| Typical household electricity bill | Up 4%1 |
| Ofgem price cap, typical household | Up 4%, to £1,723 a year2 |
Why it matters for households
Gas remains the dominant heating fuel, and National Energy Action notes that over seven in 10 fuel poor households heat their homes with gas, so a gas-led rise falls hardest on those already in debt2. The gap between the two fuels is the practical point: a household using more electricity and less gas, whether through a heat pump, solar panels or a battery, is exposed to a different price trend from one heating with a gas boiler. Carbon Brief also reports diesel at record levels of around £2 per litre, while its analysis puts electric cars at up to nine times cheaper to drive1. The price cap figure itself is a benchmark rather than a bill, and the reduced consumption values behind it are explained in what the typical household figure actually means.
What happens next
The new prices apply from 1 October1. National Energy Action has called for a tiered Warm Homes Discount and a Debt Relief Scheme, and said the government needs to move quickly on the latter2. Burnham said he had asked the energy secretary to speed up breaking the link between electricity and gas prices1. No date has been reported for either measure.