And those of us with prepayment meters will pay a bit less for energy from this summer

Energy prices, which were set to go up this month, are to stay the same for at least another three months.

The Energy Price Guarantee has been keeping a cap on the amount we pay per unit of energy we use. 

It was due to rise in April 2023. But in the Spring Budget the government said it would delay the price hike.

Prepayment meter costs cut

And if we’re on a prepayment energy meter our bills will come down. We used to be charged more for having a prepayment meter, but this will end in July 2023.

The change could save us around £45 a year.

The Energy Price Guarantee is the government’s way of protecting us from rising energy costs.

It set a limit on how much we pay per unit of energy we use, meaning the bill for a typical home is £2,500 a year. This is a lot higher than we’ve all been paying in recent years, but is actually a subsidy on recent high wholesale prices.

It’s important to remember though that it’s not a cap on our total bill – the more energy we use in the home the more we’ll pay.

Before the Spring Budget, it had been due to rise to £3,000 a year for a typical home.

It’s hoped that wholesale energy prices are now falling quickly enough that our bills will also start to come down by summer.

But despite the guarantee staying at the same level, we’ll still be paying more each month.

Check for expired vouchers

The £400 Energy Bills Support that every household received from the government has now ended. It was worth about £60 a month over the winter either as credit on our bills or as vouchers.

If we have a prepayment meter and think our vouchers may have expired, we should be able to get replacements from our suppliers. But we’ll have to act quickly – all vouchers will expire in June 2023.

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