6.4% energy rise: FIX NOW, married tax break, cheapest loan in years, 25% off railca rds, Pizza Express 50% off, 50GB Sim £3/mth

Martin: 'Not fixed yet? Do it now, save £100s'
Confirmed: Energy Price Cap to rise for third time in a row, UP another 6.4% on 1 April

- URGENT: Cheapest fix likely to end within 72hrs
- NEWS: 2.7m more people to get £150 Warm Home Discount
- NEWS: No-standing-charge Price Cap option proposed

Sadly, no surprise, Ofgem today announced what we've long warned you about. The consumer Energy Price Cap, which moves every three months, will rise an average 6.4% from 1 April, following the 1% rise in Jan, and 10% rise last October. So for the two-thirds of homes still on the Cap...

For every £100 you currently spend on energy, you'll typically spend £106.40 from April. The Price Cap is a pants cap - if you're on it, try to get off it!

The simple answer is FIX NOW to lock in a price cheaper than the current Cap, which means it'll be far cheaper than the Cap once it rises in April. Alongside the Cap's rise, there's news too on both a future no standing charge Price Cap and 2.7m more people to get £150 Warm Home Discount.

So I want to take you through it all in detail (thanks to the MSE team who'll add updates on this fast-moving subject for me once I head off to ITV for my live show, to keep it correct at the time of sending).

1. Are you on the Price Cap? Unsure... you likely are. If you live in Eng, Scot or Wales (see N. Ireland help), unless you're on a fix or special tariff, you're almost certainly one of the two-thirds of homes on a Price Capped tariff. The Cap applies to all firms' standard consumer tariffs - the default one you're on if you've never changed, or not switched since your fix ended. And while it's called a Cap, in reality almost all firms price to the max. Here are some common ones...

2. Exactly what is the new Price Cap? (Our new 'April calc' shows what you'll pay). There's no total cap on what you pay, the Cap limits the daily standing charge and unit rates firms can charge, so use more and you pay more. As for why it's gone up, well Ofgem says: "A recent spike in wholesale prices is the main driver of today's price rise, accounting for around 78% of the total increase. A small increase in policy costs and associated inflationary pressures make up a further 22%."

Below, I've put the new average Direct Debit rates, but the Cap varies by region and payment method, so use our new 'What will I pay from April?' calc to work out your new energy costs.

The huge bulk of the rise is on the unit rates - the amount you pay for each unit of energy. The elec standing charge is actually dropping. That means lower users will see a small rise - someone paying £100/mth dual-fuel would typically see a 5% rise - yet higher users will see a bigger rise - someone on £300/mth would typically see it up about 9%.

Though that's based on the UK average, and this Price Cap has seen huge regional variation in prices, with London and North Wales outliers, as their electricity standing charges are rising. See the region-by-region caps.

Overall, to give you a scale, for a home on Ofgem's 'typical use' (a nonsense measure), the new annualised rate is £1,849/yr - that's £111 higher than the current £1,738/yr. Though this rate changes again in July.

3. DON'T expect prices to fall back this year. The Price Cap is calculated based mainly on average wholesale costs - those energy retailers pay - over the three-month assessment period (we're already a week into that for the July 2025 Cap).

The further out you go, the more predictions turn into crystal ball gazing. Predictions do change, for example, they're better now than a couple of weeks ago (the potential for an end to war in Ukraine has helped), yet all current predictions from analysts I've seen show rates staying higher than they are right now for about a year. Global events could change that though.

4. LOCK IN at 6% LESS than today's Price Cap, saving immediately (it's 12% less than April's). A fixed tariff is where you lock in a rate for a set time, giving you the boon of certainty, but at the moment the best give direct savings too. As the cheapest fixes are lower than the current Cap, those on Capped tariffs can instantly reduce costs, and the relative savings will accelerate once the Cap rises in April.

Your cheapest depends on your region and usage level
Use our whole-of-market by default Cheap Energy Club comparison to find your winner

Though remember the savings you'll see are against the current Cap - in reality, they'll be BIGGER after April. Below the MSE energy team have put together a table for me showing the latest top deals currently available. Then I've answered common fixing questions just after.

Q. I'm on an old-school prepay meter. Can I fix? Sadly not. While some firms allow those on smart prepay meters to fix, frustratingly none allow those on old-school key or card meters to do so.

Q. What if the predictions are wrong and things get much cheaper? That's always possible, say, due to a peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, or the US pumping more oil out. Remember, you're always free to leave a tariff, you just may need to pay the early exit penalties. These have decreased in recent times to between £25 to £50/fuel for a 1yr fix, so just a few percent of a typical annual bill (though a bigger relative hit for lower users), so if prices really dropped it'd be a reasonable option.

Q. Can I just grab my existing provider's fix? Yes, but this is about getting a cheap fix, be careful not to lock in at a high price. Use the Energy Club comparison to show how your provider's fix compares to the cheapest - if it's not too far away, then go for it.

Q. What is 'MSE cashback'? Some providers pay energy comparison sites to facilitate the switch (you still get the same price as going direct). Yet unlike other sites, we don't default to hiding tariffs that don't pay. Instead, we show them all, but when we get paid to switch you, we give you a chunk of it as cashback, so those that pay us are relatively cheaper for you, so likely more people switch to them. Win-win.

Q. Is getting a longer fix than these worth it? Well, it gives you price certainty for longer, and means you needn't switch as frequently. Yet no price predictions go further than a year ahead, as the market is so volatile, so I'm blind to whether it's a good deal. Up to 18mths seems reasonable, longer than that and they tend to cost more and have bigger early exit penalties. So it's really only for those who really value certainty.

5. The specialist tariffs worth considering too... While fixing is simplest, there are some other deals worth considering. Though a few are tough to display via the traditional comparison site model (we're trying to work through how to do it for future, as this becomes more common), so let me walk you through the main ones...

Lower users get £50 off standing charges tariffs. Both the EDF Simply Tracker tariff* and the British Gas Price Cap Guarantee tariff track the Price Cap for around a year, but with £50/yr lower standing charges (£25/fuel). So for those who have very low usage (under roughly £80/mth) where the standing charges make up a larger portion of the bill, this can be a decent saving. Neither require smart meters unless you're on prepay, and the early exit penalties are £25 per fuel EDF, £5 per fuel BG.

6. Can you cut bills by cutting your use? Obviously, cutting use cuts bills, so we've some detailed guides that can help:

- 70+ ways to save energy includes a mix of hardcore savings and some thrifty crowd-sourced tips. From cutting your boiler flowrate to tactical curtains, getting the right freezer temp and more.
- Energy mythbusting covers less clear-cut issues, including the thorny question of 'better to keep heating on low all day or just when needed?'
- Heat the human, not the home is for those who are really struggling (though thankfully the improving weather helps too).

7. What to do if you're struggling to pay. It's always worth talking to your energy firm. Be polite and straight with it, and make sure you explain if you're vulnerable. There can be hardship & debt grants from energy suppliers. For far more guidance, see our full What to do if you're struggling to pay energy bills guide.

8. Possible future 'no standing charge' Price Cap. Standing charges are by far the most complained-about part of an energy bill - the fact it costs in excess of £300 a year just to have the facility of gas and electricity, even if you don't use any. I've long lobbied for them to be substantially cut, but that's unlikely to happen without joint action between govt & the regulator (and there's no sign of that).

Yet the regulator has just launched its final consultation on our (MSE's) compromise suggestion of a dual Price Cap. That means the current Cap would stay, but alongside it, firms would need to offer the option of a 'low or no standing charges' version (with higher unit rates) which would be better for lower users.

Yet I believe it must opt-in the vulnerable customers it suits, or it won't work - so we'll be feeding into its proposal with that. Full info in low or no standing charge Price Cap news.

9. £150 Warm Home Discount to go to 2.7m more people. The Warm Home Discount scheme gives lower-income homes £150 of energy bill support. The Govt today announced a change to come in next winter (well, technically a consultation, but I spoke to Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband, and this seems pretty sure to happen), meaning 2.7m more people will get it.

Currently, those on means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit (which helps both working people and the unemployed) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) only get the £150 if they have 'high energy costs'. That criteria is to be scrapped. Good. We've long campaigned on how poorly and unfairly this was implemented, let alone that it's a disincentive to improve your home's efficiency. For more on the changes as we learn about them, see our Warm Home Discount extended news story.

Alongside that, the Govt's announced it supports Ofgem's proposed long-term customer debt support scheme, to write off old energy crisis debts for about 1m people who are never likely to pay it back, yet money is spent on chasing it. It suggests this will be cost-neutral, as it'll reduce the 'debt allowance' currently added to the Price Cap to compensate firms for bad debt. Sounds positive, especially if combined with better debt help, though the details of how the upfront costs will be met are still somewhat sketchy.

10. There's no Price Cap in Northern Ireland. You're on a different energy system with different firms to the above. It's worth taking five minutes to go through the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland's energy comparison, or our Cheap Northern Ireland electricity guide.