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The good news is energy bills are set to fall again from 1 October as regulator Ofgem has confirmed a 7% drop in the Energy Price Cap. This dictates what most in Eng, Scot & Wales pay (apart from a few on fixes) regardless of the firm, and will last three months.

The bad news is while this offers some relief for households this winter, energy bills remain stubbornly high, and most will still be paying more for their energy than last winter as we won't all be getting the extra Government support. Here's what you need to know:

1. The Energy Price Cap will drop by an average 7% in Oct. On Friday, regulator Ofgem announced the Price Cap will fall to £1,923/yr for a typical direct debit household from 1 Oct to 31 Dec, down from the current level of £2,074/yr.

Remember, the Price Cap is misnamed as there is NO CAP ON THE MAX YOU PAY FOR ENERGY, it's actually on the underlying rates, so use more and you pay more, plus the cap varies by region...

New. Energy Price Cap calculator - what will your drop be? Use our updated What will I pay from October? calculator to enter how much energy you use, or how much you pay per month, and in what region, and it'll estimate what you'll pay from 1 October until 31 December. It's not 100% accurate, but should be in the right ballpark.

2. It is actually a cap on standing charges and unit rates. In practical terms, the Price Cap limits the (daily) standing charge firms can levy, and the rate you pay for each unit of energy used. While the calc's easiest for most, we know some like to see the actual rates.

We've full region-by-region rates in our guide for direct debit, prepay, and for those who pay on receipt of a bill, but here are the average gas and electricity rates for direct debit...

	NEW Price Cap (1 Oct to 31 Dec)	CURRENT Cap (1 Jul to 30 Sept)
Gas	Unit rate: 6.89p per kWh Standing charge: 29.62p a day	Unit rate: 7.51p per kWh Standing charge: 29.11p a day
Elec	Unit rate: 27.35p per kWh Standing charge: 53.37p a day	Unit rate: 30.11p per kWh Standing charge: 52.97p a day
Rates and standing charges are averages, which vary by region and include VAT (5%).

3. Standing charges are up again - it'll cost over £300/yr just for the facility of having gas and electricity. Under the current Price Cap, it's £300 a year on average just for standing charges, if you pay by direct debit. From October, it's rising slightly to an average £303. Higher standing charges are a moral hazard - lower users can save proportionately less and less by reducing usage.

Martin has pushed Ofgem on this - and challenged chief executive Jonathan Brearley on it after the July Price Cap was announced. Read Martin's Why are standing charges so high? What can be done about it? blog - it was written last month, but the principle still applies.

4. Most'll likely still pay more than last winter (double the one before that). Unfortunately, for most, the drop in the rate paid won't make up for last winter's £400 Government support - the £66 or £67/mth bill help everyone got from Oct to Mar. Lower users will fare worst, as the £66 was proportionately a bigger reduction on their bills.

Even with October's drop, it'll still leave people paying around close to double what they did before the energy crisis hit in autumn 2021. So far, no additional support has been announced by the Government for energy bills this winter - something Martin and MSE have pushed Energy Secretary Grant Shapps on.

5. There are cost of living payments to come for those on benefits. The first £301 benefits payment (of £900 in total) has been paid, with a further £300 to come in autumn 2023 and £299 in spring 2024. See full cost of living payments info.

6. Pensioners to get up to £600 winter fuel payment. Millions of pensioners will get up to £600 with the winter fuel payment this year, including an extra £300 top-up due to the current crisis. It's not means-tested, and will be paid automatically to those who are eligible. See pensioner support.

7. What's going to happen to bills over the next year? Sadly, the lower prices aren't guaranteed to last long, as each Price Cap is only in effect for three months (see Energy Price Cap FAQs for how it works). The current predictions are that after the October fall, it'll rise in January, before dropping again slightly over the next few Price Caps - though the further out you go, the more it is crystal-ball gazing.

Here's how the Price Cap is expected to change on average over the next 18 months, according to the latest predictions from analysts at Cornwall Insight...

So if these predictions are right, you'd pay about 5% less than the current Price Cap on average over the next year if you stayed on a Price-Capped standard tariff.

8. Should you stick, switch or fix your energy tariff? In recent weeks, we've seen the return of a handful of tariffs that undercut the current Price Cap - worth considering based on current predictions, especially if you value certainty about what you'll pay. But it's a complex decision, so see our Stick, switch or fix your energy tariff guide for all the switching options. In brief, here are some of the deals worth considering that are cheaper than the current Cap (most have £150 dual-fuel exit penalties, British Gas is £200):

1yr fixed energy deals Tariffs change often - see Is it time to fix? for our updated list
Supplier	Avg cost compared to current Cap	Who can get it?
Octopus Energy	6% less	Existing customers
E.on Next	2% less	Existing customers
Sainsbury's Energy	2% less	Existing customers
So Energy	1% less	New & existing customers
British Gas	1% less	Existing customers

See full list of fixed tariffs - including tariffs that are the same price or slightly more than the current Cap. And if you've been offered a fix and are not sure it's worth considering, see our Should you fix? calc.

- There are also cheaper variable deals that undercut the Price Cap. The Octopus Tracker tariff is for existing customers (though others can just switch first to its standard tariff, then to this) and the price changes daily based on wholesale rates. New firm Fuse has a tariff that's on average 5% under the current Cap.

9. Ovo customer with a smart meter? You could earn £10 a month in bill credit by cutting your usage at peak times midweek if you sign up to the firm's expanded 'Power Move' scheme. See Ovo Power Move for more.

10. What to do if you're struggling now, or will be this winter. If you're struggling, 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, and you may qualify for the Warm Home Discount scheme. See our full What to do if you're struggling to pay energy bills guide.

11. Can you cut your bills by cutting your energy usage? Obviously, cutting use cuts bills - and hopefully there are cuts you can make to improve efficiency that don't impact lifestyle too much.

- Start with Energy saving tips.
- Add in the Energy mythbusting guide for less clear-cut issues.
- Really struggling? See our Heat the human not the home guide (though thankfully the summer warmth helps right now).

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads
Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

Bank switch bribes are being culled - bag up to £200 free cash while you still have options
Three banks currently pay switchers, but there will be just two left after Thursday

There are just three runners left in the race to win your banking custom by paying you to switch. And with Halifax set to drop out this week, if you're not in love with your existing bank, now is a good time to make the move while there are still a few choices. Switching is usually easy and hassle-free. You'll need to pass a not-too-harsh credit check and use the new bank's switching service. It automatically closes your old account and moves over your money, direct debits and standing orders within seven working days. Any payments that still go to the old account after that will automatically be forwarded to the new one.

TOP FREE CASH SWITCH OFFERS FOR NEWBIES (1)
Account	Key perks	Why should I get it?
NatWest Reward* RBS Reward* - Service: NatWest 44% 'great', RBS 38% 'great' - Full NatWest/RBS eligibility info & review	- FREE £200 - £3/mth cashback - 6.17% regular saver	Top for upfront cash. Switch to one of these sister banks and get £200 paid within seven days. There's a £2/mth fee BUT you can get £5/mth cashback, so you'll be £3/mth (£36/yr) up. To get it all, you need to pay in £1,250/mth, then every month have 2+ direct debits of £2+ going out, and use its app. Just want the switching cash? Try NatWest/RBS Select.
First Direct 1st Account* - Service: 90% 'great' - Full First Direct eligibility info & review	- FREE £175 - 7% regular saver - £250 0% overdraft - Fee-free overseas spending	Free £175 upfront cash, and TOP SERVICE. First Direct has been top or near it in every bank service poll we've ever done. To qualify, simply pay in £1,000+ once within 3mths (you can withdraw right after). You can put up to £300/mth in its linked 7% 1yr fixed regular saver, and it offers many an ongoing 0% overdraft. So if you're overdrawn up to £425, the free cash pays some off and £250 is interest-free.
Ends Thu. Halifax Reward - Service: 55% 'great' - Full Halifax eligibility info & review	- FREE £150 - £25/mth cashback for 3mths - £5/mth reward	Top for overall cash. Provided you start your switch by 31 Aug, you'll get the upfront £150 within three working days of it completing. Halifax will also give you £25 cashback for each month you spend £750+ on most debit card spending in September, October and November. Though you must pay in £1,500/mth to avoid a £3/mth fee. To get the extra £5/mth reward, each month pay in the £1,500+, stay in credit, and EITHER spend £500+ using the debit card OR keep £5,000+ in the account at all times.
(1) To switch, you must usually be a new customer (or not had an account or switch cash for a few years) and be switching from a different banking group.

Earn 1% cashback ON TOP of all these switch bonuses. These accounts all require you to go through the official switching service to get the free cash. Yet you don't need to switch to the app-only Chase* current account to get it. Chase doesn't do a hard credit-check either, so you can use it alongside one of the banks above. It gives a year's 1% cashback (up to £15/mth) on almost all normal daily debit card spending, so pay bills from your main bank account, and top Chase up for spending.

Chase is also the top debit card for spending abroad, and has a linked 4.1% AER easy-access saver. See the full Chase review.
Some make £100s or £1,000s by repeatedly switching banks. Like Claire, who emailed us to say: "Thanks for the advice on switching bank accounts. I set up a spare account for me and my husband with our current bank last year, and have switched accounts repeatedly, earning over £2,000 in bonuses. This paid for our summer holiday. I would never have thought of doing this without the MSE email." See how to play the multiple banks switch game.

Please vote for our Martin... It's our last email before the vote, so if he's ever helped you save, vote for Martin for next week's NTAs - pages 5 & 6 (click through to the end or it won't count).

Free Asda £5. Newbies to its rewards app can get a £5 voucher to spend on almost anything. Free fiver

£3 cinema tickets - this Saturday ONLY. 100s of cinemas - including big chains Cineworld, Odeon, Vue and some independents - are offering cheap tickets for ALL screenings. £3 cinema tickets

FREE National Trust family day pass (normally £25 to £35). Excludes NT Scotland sites. Family days out

Ends Thu. Cheap superfast 100Mb Vodafone broadband: '£21/mth'. Newbies to its broadband can get a Vodafone 100Mb broadband-only deal (available to about 40% of homes) for £26/mth and can CLAIM a £125 Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury's or M&S voucher within 4mths. Factor that in and it's equivalent to £20.80/mth over the 24mth contract - half of what many pay for slower speeds. On Universal Credit, Pension Credit or equivalent benefits? See if you qualify for discounted social tariffs below. Want more options? See our broadband comparison.

Ninja Creami ice cream maker £120 with code (normally £200). MSE Blagged. This isn't MoneySaving, but it's a popular brand and a rare deal recently caused a stir online - so we got 'em to beat it, making this the cheapest we've seen. 7,000 available. Ninja

Affected by the air traffic control chaos? Your travel and refund rights explained. We've got all you need to know if your flight's been cancelled or delayed this week, or over the holiday period. See Flight travel rights.

New. 3mths' free GoHenry kids' spending card plus £15 'pocket money'. MSE Blagged. The big-name kids' prepaid card GoHenry* lets 'em spend, but keeps you in control. It normally costs £3.99/mth, but newbies can go via our link, use code AFFMSE315 and load £5+ on the card to get 3mths free plus £15 credit, which is equivalent to the monthly cost for most of the next 4mths. Free card: Alternatively HyperJar* is totally free, with roughly similar features, though you can't use it at ATMs. Full info's in Top prepaid cards for kids.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- £200 Ninja ice cream maker for £120 code 7,000 available
- Tails.com 90% off 'tailored' dog food Ends 31 October
- Free £15 + 3mths' free GoHenry card Ends 4 September

DID YOU MISS?

- Up to 80% off second-hand Zara, Next, M&S and more clothing
- Get paid £25 for spending £5 online
- Foodbank donation tips
- B&Q £5 off a £30 spend
- Clubcard vouchers expiring? We've a trick to extend 'em

'I saved £300/yr switching to a broadband social tariff. I would never have thought to look if it weren't for MSE'

On a low income? You could be one of 4m missing out on cheap broadband

For most who are out of contract, we always say the way to bag cheap broadband is through short-lived promotional deals. Yet for those on a range of benefits, there are more than 10 'social tariffs', which give long-term, consistently cheap prices that could save more than £100s/yr on average.

Who qualifies for a social tariff? All the main ones are for anyone on Universal Credit. Most also allow those receiving Pension Credit, and many also include those on jobseeker's allowance (JSA), employment and support allowance (ESA), disability living allowance and personal independence payment. Providers will usually recheck your eligibility every 12 months. The good news is, barring Sky, you don't need to be an existing customer of the firm to get one.

To see the deals in our comparison tool, tick the 'Show social tariffs' box and enter your postcode, and we'll now show you those with near-national coverage (plus each provider's eligibility criteria) alongside all standard deals available to you, so you can compare. You can also see our full social tariffs list, which includes smaller firms too.
The average saving is £200/yr with a social tariff, but some save even more. Like Caroline, who emailed us earlier this month: "My broadband came up for renewal and they wanted to increase my bill to over £40/mth. I saw MSE's information about social tariffs - I am disabled on personal independence payment, so I looked at your list of providers and found that Vodafone do a social tariff for £12/mth. I would never have thought to even look at the social tariffs before MSE's information about them! Thank you, you have saved me over £300."

Top broadband social tariffs
Vodafone - 38Mb fibre & line £12/mth - 73Mb fibre & line £20/mth	Cheapest fibre AND joint-cheapest fast fibre broadband. The Vodafone 38Mb social tariff is a straight £12/mth, while the 73Mb social tariff is £20/mth. Vodafone will carry out a credit check when you apply, then reassess if you're still eligible every 12 months.
BT - 36Mb fibre & line £15/mth - 67Mb fibre & line £20/mth	Cheap fibre & joint-cheapest fast fibre. The BT 36Mb social tariff is £15/mth with a £9.99 upfront fee, while the BT 67Mb social tariff is £20/mth with a £9.99 upfront fee. BT will carry out a credit check when you apply, then reassess if you're still eligible every 12 months.
Virgin Media - 54Mb fibre (no line) £20/mth	Cheap fibre. This Virgin 54Mb social tariff is £20/mth. To get it, you need to be in an area Virgin covers (55% of the country).
Sky - 36Mb fibre & line £20/mth	Cheap fibre for existing Sky customers only. There are cheaper social tariffs than this Sky 36Mb deal, which is a straight £20/mth, yet you can get a free 3GB Sky Mobile Sim once you have it.

Not eligible or want faster speeds? Check standard broadband deals. If you're willing to switch regularly, the cheapest standard deals via our comparison tool often undercut social tariffs, as they usually include promo vouchers or bill credit for switching - we've a decent 100Mb Vodafone deal this week.
Five quick broadband switching need-to-knows:
- Don't want to switch? Haggle. Read our full Haggling tips.
- Slow broadband? Test your speed. Do a broadband speed check and try our eight speed-boosters.
- At least 50% of customers must get the advertised speeds at peak times. All providers above also tell you the estimated max speed you're likely to get before you sign up.
- Switching usually only means about two hours of downtime. You're told the switch time in advance and most won't need an engineer to visit. If switching to or from Virgin, it's more likely.
- Members of cashback sites can sometimes undercut deals. More in Top cashback sites.

FREE visits to 5,000+ historic buildings & heritage sites. Many that are normally closed or usually charge are open for free on selected days in Sept, including Chartwell (home of Winston Churchill) and Castle Ward in Northern Ireland. Heritage Open Days

First look. Try MSE's Bill Buster, our experimental app-only new tool. We've added a host of new features to our 'Bill Buster' tool in the MSE App (available in Apple's App Store or Google's Play Store for Android). Track your mobile and broadband bills, get alerted when your contracts are ending and compare the cheapest deals based on your needs - all in one place. It's just a trial and we'd love your feedback, so let us know what you think.

FREE drinks, including beer, G&T, cocktails, coffee & tea. We've rounded up the freebies available right now via apps and sign-up offers. Free drinks (please be Drinkaware).

Back to school help...

- School uniform sales, including 10% off George at Asda and 25% off John Lewis. If you've not sorted it yet, see our cheap uniform round-up for the top deals.

- Struggling with school uniform costs? Check if you can get a grant worth up to £200. Means-tested support is available across Scotland, Wales and N Ireland. In England, not all councils offer it. See if yours does in our council-by-council school uniform grants round-up, which includes details of how to apply.

- On a low-income with school-aged child(ren)? Apply for free school meals NOW. You need to reapply every year. Even if your child's due to get them automatically (either due to age or because you live in London or some parts of Wales), it's worth applying manually, as your child's school could get additional funding. See Free school meals.

Cheap period products, including £6 period pants, save £100s on tampons & more. As John Lewis joins M&S and Tesco in covering the cost of VAT on period pants, we've rounded up the cheapest options out there. See Cheap period products.

One month's 'tailored' dog food for £2.70 (normally £27) through 90% off code. MSE Blagged. Newbies only. Tails dog food

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 30mths 0%, 3.45% fee (24.9% rep APR)
No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility / apply*) or HSBC (check eligibility / apply*) - both 16mths 0% (both 23.9% rep APR)

£200 to switch + £36/yr cashback: NatWest / RBS
£175 to switch + top service: First Direct

Top easy access: Furness BS 5%, min £1
Top one-year fix: Investec 6%, min £5,000

Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool

Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR
Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR

Standard (10Mb+): Shell Energy '£18.55/mth'
Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£18.83/mth'
Fast fibre (55Mb+): Shell Energy '£19.44/mth'
Superfast fibre (100Mb+): Vodafone '£20.08/mth'

On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs

Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.70/mth' for 3GB
4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.45/mth' for 5GB
10GB to 30GB data: Lebara, '£3.57/mth' for 12GB
31GB+ data: TalkMobile, '£8.20/mth' for 100GB

THIS WEEK'S POLL

Have you switched or fixed your energy in the past six months? Average annual energy bills fell by 17% in July for those on standard tariffs (most households), and as we explain above, they'll fall by a further 7% in October. With wholesale prices dropping, many suppliers have launched new fixed deals - mostly for existing customers, though a few have deals you can switch to. So this week, we want to know if you've switched or fixed in the past six months.

A third of us have cut back on paid-for streaming services. Last week, we asked how many streaming services you pay for, and whether you've cut back recently - over 7,000 of you responded. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are the most popular services, with more than two-thirds subscribing to them, followed by Disney+ (35%) and Apple TV+ (12%). Of those who do stream, around a third (35%) have cut their number of subscriptions, with the majority doing so to save money. See the full poll results.

MSE NEWS

- Top story: Clean air 'ULEZ' expanded to whole of London – here's how to check if you'll be charged
- Train journey affected by strikes or the overtime ban? Here are your refund rights

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should we pay for my eldest stepdaughter to go on holiday with us? I live with my husband and our five-year-old daughter, and we have a 16-year-old stepson who lives with us a couple of days a week, a 19-year-old stepdaughter at university and a 20-year-old stepdaughter who has just bought her first home. Last time we went away, we paid for them all, including the eldest's boyfriend. For our next holiday, my husband and I disagree about whether the eldest and her boyfriend should now pay for themselves or at least contribute. My stance is that they should pay, especially in the current economic situation, as she earns more than us put together. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we pay for my eldest stepdaughter to go on holiday with us? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

MSE TEAM BLOG

- MSE Forum highlights: Neighbours, nuptials & knitting needles

MINT SAUCE IN KETCHUP AND BRANSTONNAISE... WHAT CONDIMENTS DO YOU COMBINE TO MAKE BETTER ONES?

That's all for this week, but before we go... with branded mash-ups such as Heinz MayoRacha, Heinz Baconnaise and Marmite Peanut Butter hitting the shelves, our MSE Forumites have been sharing how they mix their own condiments the MoneySaving way. Examples include own-brand mayo mixed with pickle for a cheap alternative to 'Branstonnaise'; peanut butter with sweet chilli to make satay sauce, and English mustard with ketchup to make burger sauce. Perhaps the strangest tip was to add mint sauce and ground pepper to ketchup - apparently it greatly improves the flavour. Add your own MoneySaving mash-ups to the Do you mix condiments to make even better ones? MSE Forum discussion.

We hope you save some money,
The MSE team

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