According to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets default tariff cap history, the typical dual-fuel direct-debit ceiling peaked at 4,279 pounds a year in the crisis period, and the July 2026 schedule still prices medium TDCV usage in four-figure pounds, see our methodology.
Bill rank is not population rank
According to Ofgem's October - December 2026 default-tariff cap, East Midlands is cheapest at £1,805 (#1 of 14 on typical dual-fuel) while London is the largest region (#1 of 14 on population) at £1,845 (bill rank #4). Merseyside & North Wales is dearest at £1,950 on 1.6m people (population rank #13).
Key findings
Standalone, citable statements from the linked Ofgem extract. Free to reuse with attribution to PlainEnergyBills (CC BY 4.0; cite the page).
- £1,936 is the Ofgem default-tariff cap for a typical dual-fuel household paying by direct debit in October - December 2026 (medium TDCV: 2,700 kWh electricity / 11,500 kWh gas). It is a cap on unit rates and standing charges, not a maximum bill.
- +4% is the move versus the previous quarter (July - September 2026, £1,862 typical). The cash change on the typical dual-fuel figure is +£74.
- £1,805 is the typical dual-fuel bill in East Midlands (region B), the lowest of the 14 GB distribution regions for identical medium usage in this cap period.
- £1,950 is the typical dual-fuel bill in Merseyside & North Wales (region D), the highest of the 14 regions for the same usage. The spread is network costs, not a supplier league table.
- £145 is the annual gap between the cheapest and dearest region for identical medium dual-fuel usage in October - December 2026. Every regional figure uses the same TDCV, so the gap is the cap's regional differential.
- 45.2% of the January - March 2023 peak typical bill (£4,279) is where the current GB typical sits. Peak and current are the same Ofgem typical-dual-fuel series, not household meter readings.
- 54.83p per day is the electricity standing charge in October - December 2026 (29.68p gas). That is 2.38x the January - March 2019 electricity standing charge of 23.00p. Standing charges are fixed and paid regardless of kWh used.
- 24 quarterly default-tariff cap periods sit in this extract, from January - March 2019 through October - December 2026. Each row is an Ofgem-published typical dual-fuel figure, recomputed here at request time.
Typical dual-fuel bill by GB region
All 14 distribution regions for medium TDCV (2,700 kWh elec / 11,500 kWh gas). Merseyside & North Wales is £145 above East Midlands for identical usage.
Typical dual-fuel bill by GB region: East Midlands is lowest at £1,805 and Merseyside & North Wales is highest at £1,950 for October - December 2026.
Where the GB typical figure sits
The GB typical cap (£1,936) is a population-weighted figure, not a simple average of the 14 regional bills above. This marks where it falls among them.
GB typical bill vs. the 14 individual regions
Where the £1,936 GB typical figure sits among every GB distribution region's own bill, October - December 2026
1,936 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
Bill size is not population size
London is GB's largest distribution region by population (#1 of 14) but its typical bill ranks #4 of 14, not the cheapest or dearest. Network costs, not headcount, set the regional bill.
What this means for your bill
The GB typical cap is £1,936, but region alone shifts it by £145 between East Midlands and Merseyside & North Wales.
- Check your own region's typical bill against the GB figure above, not just the headline cap, before comparing quotes. Browse all 14 regions →
- Standing charges alone have risen to 2.38x the January - March 2019 level and are fixed regardless of usage, so a low-usage household feels a cap rise more, proportionally, than a high-usage one. How the cap is calculated →
- This page tracks 24 quarterly cap periods; look at the trend, not just the current figure, before judging whether prices are rising or falling. See the full cap history →
These are Ofgem's published cap figures for a medium-usage household, not a bill guarantee. Your actual bill depends on how much energy you use.
Download the regional snapshot as CSV: energy-bill-statistics.csv. Method notes live on the methodology page.