Energy Price Guarantee from 1 July 2023
Updated 1 January 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022
This page explains how the EPG operated from 1 July 2023 to 31 March 2024.
Households without a pre-payment meter in Great Britain
From 1 July 2023, households without a pre-payment meter no longer received an Energy Price Guarantee discount on their gas and electricity bills.
This is because the Ofgem price cap was lower than the Energy Price Guarantee level, meaning households were paid rates capped by the price cap.
For the period of January to March 2024, the Ofgem price cap was set at £1,928 for a typical household per year.
Households with a pre-payment meter in Great Britain
Households using prepayment meters (PPMs) did continue to receive a small discount through the EPG, bringing their charges into line with comparable direct debit customers and saving them around £25 over the 9-month period. This removed the ‘premium’ paid by PPM customers under the Ofgem price cap.
- from 1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023 the discount was delivered via a discount to the unit rate element of PPM tariffs (a per kwh discount)
- from 30 September to 31 March 2024 the discount was delivered via a small discount to the standing charge element of PPM tariffs (a per day discount)
The PPM charges each customer saw varied by region. See the EPG regional rates.
Ofgem’s decision to implement PPM standing charge levelisation means that the ‘PPM premium’ will be removed from 1 April 2024, following the end of government support through the Energy Price Guarantee.
Households in Northern Ireland
From 1 July 2023, households in Northern Ireland no longer received an Energy Price Guarantee discount on their gas and electricity bills due to falling wholesale energy prices.
This is because of differences in the operation of the energy market, meaning households in Northern Ireland will likely experience a small increase in their energy bills.
The PPM measure did not apply in Northern Ireland due to the specific circumstances of the energy market. The government engaged industry, the Utility Regulator and consumer groups in Northern Ireland, and concluded the difference between the costs faced by PPM and direct debit users does not exist in the same way that it does in Great Britain.
Energy Price Guarantee up to 30 June 2023
Find out how the EPG operated between 1 October 2022 and 30 June 2023.