It might It might be cold comfort for families struggling to pay for their energy, but households in the North East pay the lowest rate for their electricity in the whole of the UK.
The Government's energy price guarantee capped the average price for one unit (KWH) of electricity at around 34p, but the exact price you pay depends on whereabouts in the country you live - with billpayers in our region paying less than any other region at 2p less per KWH if you pay for duel fuel by direct debit. This means we pay around £55 a year less than the notional £2,500, the amount quoted for average usage.
If you're unlucky enough to live in North Wales, Cheshire and parts of Merseyside, you will pay £66 more - or £121 more than someone living in the North East.
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Households pay different unit rates depending on their postcode because it costs energy suppliers and the National Grid a different amount to service different areas. According to Uswitch, there are three main reasons why energy prices are different across UK:
- Limits on how much gas and electricity companies can sell in any given region;
- Variations in the cost of energy sold by the National Grid;
- How much the local energy distributors charge suppliers for that energy.
Prime Minister Liz Truss 's announced a freeze on energy bills for two years on September 8. The energy price guarantee (EPG), which came into force on October 1, puts a cap on the amount energy firms can charge for a unit of electricity or gas per region. The Government intervened after the Ofgem energy price cap was set at an all-time high of £3549 for an average household from October 1.
The EPG is usually expressed as a £2500 average household cost for gas and electric, but in common with the price cap, the guarantee doesn’t set a maximum for your bills and the price of your energy bill will still depend on how much energy you use. The average amount will also depend on how you pay your bills. If you have a prepayment meter you will pay an average of £2,559 over the next 12. months. Standing charges also vary by region and you can check yours by looking at your most recent energy bill.
Gas is capped at 10.3p on average under the EPG, but there is a lot less variance between regions, with direct debit customers in the Northern region paying the least at 10.2p per KWH and Londoners paying the most at 10.51p/KWH. Those living in Merseyside and North Wales pay 10.34p/KWH for their gas.
These figures don't relate to customers that pay on receipt of bills or those who have prepayment meters.
The full list of how much direct debit customers pay for electricity by region is:
National average
10.33p per kilowatt hour (p/kWh) for gas
34.04p/kWh for electricity
A standing charge of 28.49p per day for gas
A standing charge of 46.36p per day for electricity
Average bill for gas and electricity: £2,500
North East England
Gas: 10.20p per kWh
Electricity: 32.24p per kWh
£55 lower than the national average towards your total bill
East Midlands
Gas: 10.24p per kWh
Electricity: 33.02p per kWh
£43 lower than the national average towards total bill
North West England
Gas: 10.33p per kWh
Electricity: 33.48p per kWh
£28 lower than the UK national average towards total bill
Yorkshire
Gas: 10.24p per kWh
Electricity: 33.03p per kWh
£28 lower than the national average towards total bill
Northern Scotland
Gas: 10.28p per kWh
Electricity: 33.07p per kWh
£17 lower than the national average towards total bill
Eastern England
Gas : 10.31p per kWh
Electricity: 35.06p per kWh
Households pay the same as the national average
Southern Scotland
Gas: 10.28p per kWh
Electricity: 33.76p per kWh
£1 more than the national average towards total bill
West Midlands
Gas: 10.33p per kWh
Electricity: 33.73p per kWh
£2 more than the national average towards total bill
Southern England
Gas: 10.46p per kWh
Electricity: 34.23p per kWh
£14 more than the national average towards total bill
South Wales
Gas: 10.39p per kWh
Electricity: 33.97p per kWh
£16 more than the national average towards total bill
South East England
Gas: 10.30p per kWh
Electricity: 35.31p per kWh
£19 more than the national average towards total bill
London
Gas: 10.51p per kWh
Electricity: 35.80p per kWh
£24 more than the national average towards total bill
South West England
Gas: 10.43p per kWh
Electricity: 33.86p per kWh
£29 more than the national average towards total bill
North Wales and Mersey
Gas: 10.34p per kWh
Electricity: 35.98p per kWh
£66 more than the national average towards total bill
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