The government's energy plan – our update

For the duration of the Guarantee customers who are on one of our standard tariffs will receive discounted energy rates adjusted in line with a £2,500 average bill at typical use.(1)

Customers on our fixed tariffs will receive similar discounts for the duration of the Guarantee. Please see the details below.

Customers on a fixed tariff below the £2,500 per annum at typical consumption(1)

The purpose of the Government Energy Price Guarantee discount is to ensure all customers are on prices equivalent to £2,500 per annum at typical consumption. This means customers on fixed prices that are already below this level will not have any additional discount applied. You will, however, still receive the £400 discount from the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Customers on a fixed tariff priced between £2,500 and £3,550 per annum at typical consumption(1)

Customers who are currently on fixed prices between £2,500 and £3,550 at typical consumption will see the relevant proportion of the Government Energy Price Guarantee discount automatically applied to bring their prices back down to £2,500 at typical consumption.

Customers on a fixed tariff priced above £3,550 per annum at typical consumption(1)

Customers who are currently on fixed prices above £3,550 at typical consumption will have the maximum Government Energy Price Guarantee automatically applied but it will not be sufficient to bring the prices back down to £2,500 at typical consumption. In this instance, we'll be contacting any EDF customers who are on fixed tariffs priced above £3,550 at typical consumption individually to let them know their options and offer them the opportunity to switch to our cheaper Standard (Variable) tariff at no extra cost.

From 1 October.

Yes. Our teams are now busy working out how this will work. We'll be communicating from next week to all our customers impacted by this change, detailing what this means for them via email or letter.

Thanks for your patience whilst we do this.

The purpose of the Government Energy Price Guarantee discount is to ensure all customers are on prices equivalent to £2,500 per annum at typical consumption(1). This means customers on fixed prices already below this level will not have any additional discount applied. You will however still receive the £400 discount from the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Customers currently on fixed prices between £2,500 and £3,550 at typical consumption(1) will see the relevant proportion of the Government Energy Price Guarantee discount automatically applied to bring their prices back down to £2,500 at typical consumption(1).

Customers currently on fixed prices above £3,500 at typical consumption(1) will have the maximum Government Energy Price Guarantee automatically applied, but it will not be sufficient to bring the prices back down to £2,500 at typical consumption(1). In this instance, we'll be contacting any EDF customers on fixed tariffs priced above £3,550 at typical consumption(1) individually to let them know their options and offer them the opportunity to switch to our cheaper Standard (Variable) tariff at no extra cost.

If you're on one of our fixed prices, you can view your new discounted prices via the Tariff Information Label. 

How to use the Tariff Information Label look up tool

• Enter your postcode and start typing the name of the tariff you're on. (You can find your tariff name in MyAccount or in your welcome pack that was sent out when you signed up for your fixed tariff.)
• Click on the 'Get tariff information' button
• Choose your payment method and meter type from the options shown
• The next screen will show your discounted unit rates and the standing charge 

We only review Direct Debit payments twice a year if you pay a regular amount monthly. Find out more information about Direct Debit in our help centre.

We're working towards a solution for those customers that have already had a Direct Debit reassessment based on the previously announced prices that were not subject to any discount and will contact customers directly about this.

Yes, the announcement confirmed that all customers on fixed or Standard (Variable) prices will receive the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme discount for the six months from October 2022.

Today's announcement indicated it was expected to remain in place until April 2023.

If you’re struggling, we can help

We’ve more than doubled our Customer Support Fund this year so that we can help more people than ever before. We can offer things like payment plans and help with clearing your debt. We can also help you access extra financial support you may be entitled to. If you’re struggling, please don’t just cancel your direct debit or ignore your bill. This could cost you more long-term and harm your credit rating.

Options include;

• Having a smart Pay As You Go meter installed can help you manage your energy budget
• Paying less, more often - if you currently pay your bills quarterly, why not consider monthly payments by going to MyAccount
• Extra support through our Priority Services Register for those who need it

If you need extra support, we have advice and ways to help. 

Other ways we can help

Save money (and carbon)

• Get a smart meter to help understand your energy use better
• Our customers could cut their energy use and costs, saving up to £73.98 a year(3) with a smart meter and our free Energy Hub service. It shows where you’re using the most energy, putting you in control
• Check out our energy saving tips and advice

The Government Energy Price Guarantee will be applied to the rate you pay for each unit of energy, so the money you put on the meter will last longer than it would otherwise have been the case this winter. In the meantime, you’ll remain on your current rate which is below the discounted rate.

Today the government has announced households that do not pay directly for mains gas and electricity - for example, those who live in park homes or on heat networks will be supported through a new fund. We are waiting for more details on this and will update you when we have more.

We’re not offering fixed price tariffs at the moment because it would cost customers at least a thousand pounds more than staying on Standard Variable Tariff (SVT) and benefitting from The Government Energy Price Guarantee (GEPG). So, it’s just not the right thing to do.

That’s because, unlike our SVT tariff - where we buy energy in advance – we buy energy for our fixed tariffs at the same time we launch those fixed tariffs.

This means that if we were to launch a new fixed tariff now, we would be buying the energy at today’s extremely high prices, and therefore the cost of that tariff would also be extremely high.

Today that would be around £4000 per year for a typical dual fuel customer for a 2-year tariff and even more for a 1-year fixed tariff.

As the Government has committed to keeping the SVT discounted to £2,500 until April 2023 (based on typical usage), we don’t believe it would be appropriate for us to be promoting a more expensive fixed tariff to our customers at this time – instead, we believe we should be letting our customers know what is currently the cheapest option for them

However, the energy markets have been very volatile, and things could change very quickly. That is why we have launched our price alert service for customers. If you sign up for this service, we’ll contact you as soon as we launch a new fixed tariff that is cheaper than SVT. So, you get the best of both worlds: the comfort of knowing you are currently on our cheapest tariff plus the reassurance that you’ll be the first to know if we have a cheaper fixed deal available.

Yes, in today's announcement, the government set out its intention to support businesses, charities and public sector organisations. More information on this has now been confirmed. The latest updates on the Government Energy Bill Relief Scheme can be found on their website. We're also updating information as it comes through.