Dearest bill is not the smallest region
According to Ofgem's October – December 2026 cap, Merseyside & North Wales is dearest at £1,950 (#14 of 14 on typical dual-fuel) on 1.6m people (population #13). The smallest region is Northern Scotland (1.5m, bill rank #8), not the dearest.
All 14 regions, most expensive first
| # | Region | Typical annual bill |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merseyside & North Walesregion D | £1,950 |
| 2 | South West Englandregion L | £1,889 |
| 3 | South Walesregion K | £1,882 |
| 4 | South Eastern Englandregion J | £1,873 |
| 5 | Southern Scotlandregion N | £1,870 |
| 6 | Southern Englandregion H | £1,865 |
| 7 | Northern Scotlandregion P | £1,862 |
| 8 | Yorkshireregion M | £1,861 |
| 9 | North East Englandregion F | £1,859 |
| 10 | East Englandregion A | £1,849 |
| 11 | Londonregion C | £1,845 |
| 12 | West Midlandsregion E | £1,844 |
| 13 | North West Englandregion G | £1,818 |
| 14 | East Midlandsregion B | £1,805 |
Most expensive UK energy region: Merseyside & North Wales at £1,950 per year for October – December 2026. Cheapest: East Midlands at £1,805. GB average £1,862.
The cost map
The national picture as a heatmap, darker tiles cost more. Merseyside & North Wales is darkest at £1,950; East Midlands lightest at £1,805, a £145 spread for identical usage.
Each tile is one of the 14 GB electricity distribution regions, shaded by typical annual dual-fuel bill under the Ofgem cap for October – December 2026 (£1,805 cheapest → £1,950 dearest). Source: Ofgem price cap, October – December 2026.
Why these regions cost more
Bills are the typical dual-fuel, direct-debit figure under the Ofgem default tariff cap for October – December 2026, on medium usage (2,700 kWh electricity / 11,500 kWh gas). The most expensive regions are generally those with sparser populations and longer, more dispersed distribution networks, the fixed cost of maintaining that network is spread across fewer customers, so per-customer network charges (built into both unit rates and standing charges) are higher. The cap sets these charges separately for each of the 14 GB regions, and you cannot change your region by switching supplier.
See the other end of the table, the cheapest UK regions - or estimate your own bill with the bill calculator.
Sources
- Ofgem default tariff cap - October – December 2026
- See our methodology for how regional figures are derived.
Open data: energy-bill-statistics.csv.
Every figure on PlainEnergyBills is rendered directly from Ofgem source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Ofgem source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.