Pick the right tariff, keep £200-£400 a year

A fixed tariff locks in your unit rate and standing charge for a set period — usually 12 to 24 months — so your kWh price will not change even if the wholesale market jumps. A variable tariff, including the Ofgem price-cap default plan, tracks the market and can rise or fall every few months. Fixed plans are best when prices are expected to rise; variable plans are useful when wholesale prices are falling.

Yes — if you can shift heavy loads to the seven cheaper hours overnight. Storage heaters, hot-water cylinders, EV charging, dishwashers and laundry can all run on a timer. Read the Economy 7 guide to check the off-peak window in your region and compare night-time rates from current UK suppliers.

An EV tariff sets a very low unit rate during a defined off-peak window — often four to five hours overnight — designed to charge your electric car. Most EV plans require a smart meter and, in some cases, a compatible smart charger. The EV tariffs guide compares the best deals available in the UK today.

The standing charge is a flat daily fee — typically 50–60 p a day on electricity and 30–35 p on gas — charged every day, even if you use no energy. It covers the cost of maintaining the network, settling bills and protecting failed-supplier customers. Zero-standing-charge tariffs exist but compensate with much higher unit rates, so they only pay off for very low users. Full breakdown in our standing charge guide.

The original Feed-in Tariff scheme closed to new applicants in 2019. Households installing solar panels today use the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) instead, where each supplier sets its own export rate. Our feed-in tariff guide explains how both schemes work and where to find the best SEG rates.

UK households pay one of the higher unit rates in Europe, largely because gas-fired power stations still set the wholesale price most of the time. Our exclusive Selectra studies — Europe-wide and across 155 countries — rank every market by the average residential price per kWh.

Switching itself is free. There is no charge to leave the price-cap default tariff and no fee to move to a new supplier. Some fixed plans charge an exit fee (usually £25–£75 per fuel) if you leave before the contract ends, but Ofgem rules let you switch in the final 49 days with no penalty.