Household energy bills for millions of customers will rise by 6.4 per cent from 1 April when Ofgem increases its price cap for a third consecutive quarter.
The average bill for households on a standard variable tariff in England, Scotland and Wales will rise from £1,738 a year to £1,849. It follows a recent spike in wholesale prices.
The increase will equate to £111 for an average household per year, or £9.25 a month, during the three-month period covered by the price cap.
Ofgem has predicted that bills will reduce in the summer, but fuel poverty campaigners said Tuesday’s price cap announcement will add to the burden of the most vulnerable.
Here, The i Paper takes a look at how energy prices in Britain compare with other countries in Europe.
The latest analysis from the Household Energy Price Index (Hepi) shows London ranks among the most expensive European cities for household electricity.
Britain relies more heavily on gas than other European countries, which pushes up UK’s electricity prices.
The average European electricity end-user price saw a notable 4 per cent increase in January, currently standing 1 per cent higher compared with the level recorded a year ago, the Hepi report states.
As of 3 January 2025, Berlin and Brussels were the most expensive cities for household electricity, including taxes, in Europe, with prices at 40.42 euro cents per kilowatt hour (c€/kWh) in the German capital and 38.52c€ in the Belgian capital, followed by Copenhagen (37.47c€), London (36.75c€), and Bern (36.41c€), according to Hepi.
The least expensive electricity price per kilowatt hour was recorded in Budapest (9.07c€), followed by Kyiv (9.76c€) and Belgrade (10.50c€).
Price data for gas, including taxes, shows Stockholm residents paid the highest costs per kilowatt hour (33.27c€), three times the European average and 13 times higher than Budapest (2.49c€), the cheapest city for gas in the EU and almost 19 times as high as Kyiv (1.77c€).
Amsterdam was second-highest (18.26c€), followed by Bern (17.41c€). Gas prices in Dublin were listed as eighth-highest (12.01c€), while London came in at 18th highest out of the 27 European capital cities with 8.81c€.
The authors of the Hepi report said: “In January, the average natural gas end-user price marked a significant 4 per cent increase across Europe due to cold weather and the halt of gas flows through Ukraine, causing substantial gas storage withdrawals.”
Ofgem said rising global wholesale prices for energy are the main reason household bills are increasing in Britain.
Wholesale prices have risen across Europe over the past few months. Because the UK’s gas network uses liquefied natural gas imports via Europe and the global market, international factors affect domestic prices.
A major factor has been the Russia-Ukraine war. The pipeline delivering Russian gas to European countries through Ukraine was turned off at the start of the year.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the Government was acting to bring down bills for everyone with its “mission for clean, homegrown power that we control”.
He said: “The only way we can have the energy security that British people deserve is by getting off fossil fuels that are controlled by petro-states and dictators.”
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