Bill rank is not population rank
According to Ofgem's October – December 2026 default-tariff cap, Merseyside & North Wales ranks #14 of 14 GB distribution regions by typical dual-fuel bill (cheapest = #1) at £1,950, and #13 of 14 by approximate population (largest = #1). The cheapest region is East Midlands, not the largest (London).
Why does Merseyside & North Wales's cap differ from other regions?
Every region in Great Britain pays a different energy price cap, and the reason is the local distribution network rather than anything a household does. Roughly a quarter of a typical bill goes to building and maintaining the poles, cables, substations and meters that deliver power to the door, and that cost is recovered from the homes connected to it. Where the network is long and the population sparse, a large fixed infrastructure cost is shared between relatively few customers, so the per-household charge is higher; where demand is dense and the network compact, the same cost is spread much more thinly. Ofgem sets the cap separately for each of the 14 distribution regions every quarter to reflect those differences, which is why two identical households using exactly the same amount of gas and electricity can still face noticeably different annual bills depending only on where they live. The figure shown above is the typical, medium-usage estimate for Merseyside & North Wales under the current cap; a household that uses more or less than the typical amount will see its bill scale up or down from there.
Peers vs Merseyside & North Wales
Exclusive cut of all 14 GB distribution regions relative to Merseyside & North Wales’s typical dual-fuel bill. Orthogonal to the bill-vs-population dual above: peer counts only, not ordinals restated as percentages.
Ofgem cap plate
Board D · Merseyside & North Wales £1,950 · 14th/14
CLEAR-GAP · DNO-SPMANWEB · WALES-LINK · SPARSE-DEAR · ABOVE-AVG · CODE-D
- CLEAR-GAP Clear gap
- DNO-SPMANWEB SP Manweb
- WALES-LINK Wales-linked board
- SPARSE-DEAR Smaller · dearer half
- ABOVE-AVG Above GB average
- CODE-D Ofgem region D
Nearest board: South West England (£61 apart)
Instrument codes from this board’s Ofgem default-tariff cap position (gap to nearest peer · DNO family · nation board · bill-vs-population dual · vs GB average · region letter), not a switching recommendation.
Cap neighbourhood around Merseyside & North Wales
Cheapest and dearest poles plus the boards nearest Merseyside & North Wales on the October – December 2026 dual-fuel cap. Full 14-region board: rankings.
Merseyside & North Wales typical annual dual-fuel bill is £1,950 for October – December 2026, ranked 14th of 14 GB regions.
Where Merseyside & North Wales sits among all 14 GB regions
Typical dual-fuel bill bands under the current Ofgem cap. Merseyside & North Wales is marked; cheaper is lower on the inventory.
Merseyside & North Wales vs all regions by typical dual-fuel bill
Where this region's October – December 2026 typical bill sits among every GB distribution region
1,950 14th of 14 the highest of 14 regions
Regions, banded by typical dual-fuel bill (£/yr)
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more regions. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source Ofgem default-tariff price cap · October – December 2026
Merseyside & North Wales in the national picture
Where Merseyside & North Wales sits among the 14 GB regions for October – December 2026 - shaded by typical bill, with Merseyside & North Wales ringed.
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.
Merseyside & North Wales: bill size vs population size
Merseyside & North Wales is marked among all 14 GB regions by typical bill and population. Being large or small does not, on its own, predict a cheap or dear bill; network costs do.
What makes up the bill in Merseyside & North Wales
Strip the £308 GB-average standing charge out of Merseyside & North Wales's £1,950 typical total and £1,642 is left over for energy use at the region's own network-adjusted rates.
How this breakdown is calculated
A typical bill has two parts: the energy you use (per-kWh unit rates) and standing charges (a fixed daily fee you pay before using any energy). Figures use Ofgem's GB-average rates for October – December 2026 on medium usage (2,700 kWh electricity / 11,500 kWh gas). The same GB-average composition applies nationwide; Merseyside & North Wales's bill differs mainly through network charges in the unit rates (see the Ofgem cap plate above).
Where to go from here
Merseyside & North Wales is £145 above East Midlands, the cheapest region. The 14-region board and the calculator both take that further.
- See how Merseyside & North Wales compares against all 14 regions on one board Rankings →
- Get a usage-adjusted figure instead of the typical-usage estimate above Calculator →
- Read why the cap differs by distribution region in the first place Regional guide →
For informational purposes only, not financial advice. Figures are sourced from Ofgem's published default-tariff cap for October – December 2026.
Nationwide regions with similar cap context
Three peer lenses for Merseyside & North Wales, each excluding this distribution region: typical bill under the October – December 2026 cap, connected population scale, and shared distribution-network operator where the data supports it.
Similar typical bill
Nearest other regions by Ofgem typical dual-fuel bill (£1,950 here).
Similar population scale
Nearest other regions by approximate connected population (1.6m here).
Network operator: SP Manweb
SP Manweb operates this network. It carries the highest typical bill of any GB region, a result of the highest distribution-network charges anywhere, spread thin across a dispersed rural-Welsh and Merseyside area.
Merseyside & North Wales sits in Ofgem distribution region D under SP Manweb.
Sources
- Ofgem default tariff cap - October – December 2026
- Ofgem energy price cap (regional charges), Merseyside & North Wales network costs sit inside this board.
- Regional figure derived from Ofgem's per-region cap rate; see our methodology for detail.