Energy Crisis

Due to the current energy crisis the energy comparison sites such as Energy Helpline have ceased offering energy price comparisons online.

So you can make an informed decision on what to do next in the face of an ever increasing energy bill I have laid out the current information available so you're aware of the options to lessen the impact of the price hikes.

What's happening with energy prices?

Since August 2021 we noticed gas and electricity prices started to increase dramatically. We track energy prices at Safe Energy Switch so we can let you know which energy suppliers are offering the best value deals.

From March 2019 to July 2021 the cheapest energy deals were consistently ranging from £743 to £883 meaning there were always new suppliers willing to offer low priced tariffs to domestic energy customers.

In August 2021 the lowest priced deal available on the market increased to £1,056, around a fifth more expensive than the last 2 years.

Since then the cost of gas and electricity for British households has increased dramatically with the average UK energy bill set to increase another 70% in October 2022.

For most people switching to a cheaper provider is almost impossible. Many comparison sites have stopped offering a comparison service making it very difficult to easily compare deals between providers.

Many energy companies have stopped providing quotes online so you can't even find better deals by going directly to the suppliers.

For now the cheapest price most people are going to get is by staying on your current provider's variable rate tariff. Unfortunately there is no way to avoid the government regulator Ofgem's detrimental price hikes.

As an energy customer myself I am livid at the inaction of our government to cap prices for consumers in the UK and exasperated at how our rigged energy market is punishing households with punitive price hikes whilst blatantly profiteering at the cost of British households.



Get £50 for Switching


Switch to Octopus Energy and get £50 credit when you switch.



To illustrate how bad it is right now take one of the best suppliers in the UK, Octopus Energy. I do believe Octopus is one of the best suppliers offering innovative tariffs allowing households more control over their energy usage.

Octopus innovated with offering cheaper bills to households close to their wind turbines on windy days. You can increase or decrease your direct debit directly from their website. If you have a positive balance you can withdraw some of it back into your bank account and it will show up within 5 days on the website without having to call them.

Even with all of these fairer to the consumer features at the time of writing (August 2022) their variable rate Flexible Octopus tariff costs 29.23p per kWh for electricity and 7.34p per kWh for gas.

The best fixed deal they offer for existing customers is their Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed tariff which charges 69.56p per kWh for electricity and 18.70p per kWh for gas. That's more than double for so-called Loyal customers and this is from the best rated energy company in the UK that is genuinely trying to fight against the existing unjust energy market system we have today.

If I switched now I'd be paying 69 pence for every kWh of electricity I used until the end of the 12 month fix. If I do nothing and remain on the default variable rate by October 2023 I should be paying around 56 pence per kWh.

Taking into account these are just estimates then the least cost option under these circumstances would be to remain on Octopus Energy's variable rate.

You will have to do the calculations yourself based on the options offered by your current provider. You can use the energy cost estimations below from Cornwall Insights.

UK energy prices predictions

Current predictions suggest that energy prices are going to remain very high till the end of 2023.

1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, +12% to £1,277/year
1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022, +54% to £1,971/year
1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022, +82% to £3,582/year
1 January 2023 to 31 March 2023, +19% to £4,266/year £5,836/year
1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023, +4% to £4,426/year £6,616/year
1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023, -14% to £3,810/year £5,897/year
1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023, -1% to £3,781/year £5,887/year

lightbulb Ofgem announced that the price cap for 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022 will be £3,549/year.

Previous estimates were that the average UK energy bill will increase in October 2022 to £2,800 but this forecast was readjusted to £3,360 and again on 9th August analysts Cornwall Insights predicted average household bills will now increase to £3,582 in October.

Current predictions going forward into 2023 put UK gas and electricity bills at £4,266 in Q1 of 2023 and £4,426 in Q2 of 2023.

LATEST: The latest estimates now put the Q1 cost at £5,836, £1,570 more than previously predicted. The figures for Q2 have also increased by £2,190 from £4,426 to £6,616 for the average household.

The average UK gas and electric bill is forecast to decrease slightly to £3,810 in Q3 of 2023 and £3,781 in Q4 of 2023.

Considering the average bill in 2020 and 2021 was a little over £1,000 for the average household it is quite horrific to think we will soon be paying four times as much for the same gas and electricity.

According to University College London offshore wind was costing about 5 pence per kWh in 2022.

Unfortunately we as consumers cannot buy this cheap electricity directly from the generators. The energy is priced and sold on the wholesale market so it is the companies that are involved in energy generation, specifically fossil fuel companies that are profiteering.