We all need heat and light to live. Unfortunately, the cost of making our homes comfortable has increased dramatically, and energy has become a bigger proportion of a typical household’s living costs.
The energy market has been in crisis since 2021, with extreme volatility in energy wholesale prices leading to huge increases for bills.
The market is regulated by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, known as Ofgem, whose role is to protect consumers by promoting competition and fair practise within the industry.
This page provides an overview of the major UK energy suppliers, summarises recent industry news, and gives some advice and tips, as well as sources for further support.
Contents of this page
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The top 8 suppliers account for 80% of the UK gas and electricity market.
Our independent and honest reviews of each supplier collate information from trusted sources into one place to guide you in finding the best solution for your electricity and gas needs.
The energy crisis means there are currently limited deals offering a cheaper price than the Standard Variable Tariff rate set by the Ofgem’s Energy Price Cap.
This means the only ways to substantially bring down your bills are improving the energy efficiency of your home, or reducing the amount of power you use.
A large proportion of your energy bill comes from heating your home and hot water. For the most up-to-date practical advice, read our guide to Saving money on energy.
<aside> 🆘 If you are struggling with energy debt and need urgent help with your energy bills, see this guide
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Ofgem’s price cap works by setting a maximum limit on how much energy suppliers can charge consumers for a unit of energy. The idea behind the price cap is to provide a level of protection for consumers, and to prevent energy companies from charging excessively high prices.
The cost of your energy is set by the price cap if you are of the 29 million UK customers on a default or variable tariff. If you are on a fixed rate, changes to the price cap will not impact the amount you pay while you are in contract.
<aside> ⚠️ Ofgem’s energy price cap is a cap on the unit rate cost of energy, not on your total bill. The more energy you use, the higher your bill will be.
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Ofgem updates the price cap every three months to reflect changes to wholesale energy costs, as well as additional underlying costs for suppliers. From July 2023 the price cap is: