After inflation, the same gas and electricity cost 2.5 times as much in August 2026 as in November 2000, when it was cheapest
A typical household's yearly gas and electricity bill, worked out month by month, Great Britain, January 1988 to August 2026. Pounds a year, adjusted for inflation to August 2026 prices, so every year is shown in today's money.
The same amount of energy cost £659 a year then and £1,658 in August 2026, both adjusted for inflation. The figures go back to January 1988.
Latest figures
| Series | Period | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Typical yearly bill | August 2026 | £1,658 |
Notes
- The line keeps the amount of energy the same throughout: 2,500 kWh (units) of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year, what the regulator Ofgem counts as typical today. So it shows how prices changed, not how much energy people used. Homes that use more pay more.
- It starts from the typical bill paid by direct debit under Ofgem's price cap for July to September 2026, and goes back month by month using official figures on how much household electricity and gas prices changed (the ONS consumer price indices). These include VAT and the fixed daily charges for having a supply, and cover all tariffs, including fixed deals. The cap covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own regulator.
- From October 2022 to June 2023 the government's Energy Price Guarantee held bills down, and the line includes it. It doesn't include the £400 households also got off their electricity bills that winter.
- All figures are adjusted for inflation to August 2026 prices, using the ONS measure of rises in the cost of living (CPIH).
Sources
- Office for National Statistics, Consumer price inflation (CPIH: electricity L53E, gas L53F, all items L522)
- Ofgem, Energy price cap (default tariff cap level), levels at current typical consumption
More on cost of living
- The average home cost 6.7 years of a typical full-time worker's pay in 2025
- After inflation, household electricity prices were 35% higher and gas prices 12% higher than in 2015, in August 2026
- After inflation, beer in pubs and bars cost 17% more in August 2026 than in January 1987
- UK households paid 29.7p per unit of electricity and 7.0p per unit of gas in 2025, including taxes
- Petrol cost 175.3p a litre and diesel 200.0p at UK filling stations in the week of 12 October 2026
- A pint of lager cost an average of £5.15 in the UK in the 12 months to August 2026