Energy Price Cap Rises From 1 October 2026: What It Means for Your Heating

From 1 October 2026 the Ofgem energy price cap goes up by 4%, and for a typical household paying by Direct Debit for gas and electricity that means an annual bill of £1,723 instead of £1,663, about £60 a year or £5 a month more. Ofgem announced the change on 26 August 2026 and it runs until 31 December 2026, when the cap is reviewed again. For homes heated by gas the picture is worse than the headline, because Ofgem says gas bills are rising by around 8% while homes without gas see a rise of under 1%. Here is what that means if you heat your home with a gas boiler in the North East, and what you can do about it before the cold arrives.

What Ofgem has actually changed

The price cap is not a cap on your total bill. It is a limit on the price per unit of energy and the daily standing charge for people on a standard variable tariff. Use more, pay more. According to Ofgem, from 1 October to 31 December 2026 a customer paying by Direct Debit will pay:

• Gas: 7.97 pence per kilowatt hour, with a standing charge of 29.68 pence per day. These figures include VAT at 5%.
• Electricity: 26.32 pence per kilowatt hour, with a standing charge of 54.83 pence per day. Ofgem notes these do not include VAT from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, because the government has removed VAT from electricity for that period.

Ofgem puts the rise down to high international gas prices continuing to push up the cost of energy. It also says that without the government's VAT change on electricity, bills would have been roughly £45 higher again. The exact rates vary slightly by region and by how you pay, so check the rates on Ofgem's website or your own supplier's for your area.

Why gas heated homes feel it most

Most houses around Sunderland, Durham, Washington and Newcastle heat with gas, and the heating is by far the biggest share of a winter gas bill. An 8% rise in the cost of gas lands squarely on the boiler. That makes the next three months a good time to make sure your boiler is not burning more gas than it needs to.

Five things that cut the gas your boiler uses

1. Turn the flow temperature down

Most combi boilers leave the factory with the radiator flow temperature set high. A modern condensing boiler runs at its most efficient when the water coming back to it is cool enough to make it condense, and that happens at lower flow temperatures. Turning the radiator temperature down to somewhere around 60 degrees on a well insulated house often makes no difference to comfort and a real difference to gas use. Our guide to boiler temperature settings explains how to do it and when not to.

2. Get the boiler serviced

A boiler with a dirty heat exchanger, a worn seal or a burner that is out of adjustment uses more gas to produce the same heat. On a service, a Gas Safe registered engineer checks the combustion with an analyser and sets the boiler back to the manufacturer's figures. It is also when faults are caught before they become a breakdown. Our boiler service starts from £80 plus VAT.

3. Use the thermostatic radiator valves

You do not need every room at the same temperature. Turn the valves down in bedrooms and rooms you rarely use, and let the living room be the warm one. Every radiator running at full tilt in an empty room is gas out of the window.

4. Bleed the radiators and check the pressure

A radiator with air in the top is not giving you the heat you are paying for, and a boiler running at low pressure struggles. Both take five minutes to sort and both are in our guides. If radiators are cold at the bottom rather than the top, that is sludge, and the boiler is working harder than it should to push heat through it.

5. Set the heating to your day, not the clock

Leaving the heating on all day at a low temperature is a persistent myth. In most homes, heating the house when you are in it and letting it drop when you are out uses less gas. Set the programmer to your actual routine and give it half an hour to warm up before you get home.

If your boiler is old

If your boiler is an old non condensing model, it may be sending a large share of the gas you buy straight up the flue. A price rise makes that waste more expensive every quarter. A replacement is a big decision and not always the right one, but if you have been thinking about it, our new boiler cost guide sets out what it costs from £1,790 fitted and what changes the price. A quick fixed price from the online tool costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

Check you are on the right deal

This is a heating firm, not a switching site, but it is worth saying: the price cap only applies to standard variable tariffs. If you have not looked at fixed deals recently, it is worth a few minutes on a comparison site, and if you are struggling with bills, your supplier has to offer help, and the Priority Services Register exists for people who need extra support. Ofgem's website explains both.

A service before the cold weather

If you are in Sunderland, our boiler servicing Sunderland page explains what is included and how to book. Wherever you are in our area, ring 0191 540 2051 or book online, and get the boiler checked while the weather is still kind and there is no queue.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the energy price cap going up in October 2026?

By 4%, according to Ofgem. A typical dual fuel household paying by Direct Debit goes from £1,663 a year to £1,723, a rise of about £60 a year. Gas bills are rising by around 8% and homes without gas by under 1%.

Does the price cap limit my total bill?

No. It caps the unit price and the standing charge. Your bill still depends on how much gas and electricity you use, which is why an efficient boiler and sensible controls matter.

Will a boiler service lower my gas bill?

It keeps the boiler running as efficiently as it was designed to, which stops it drifting into using more gas than it should. The bigger savings usually come from lowering the flow temperature and using the radiator valves and programmer properly, and the service is a good moment to have all of that set up.