Energy prices

In January 2026, a litre of petrol cost 133p on average and a litre of diesel 142p.

Adjusted for inflation, petrol costs slightly more than it did in 1954, and 32% less than at its peak in January 2012, when it cost the equivalent of 194p a litre in today's prices.

This chart shows the change in prices of different fuels since 1990 (given the value of 100). A value of 200 would mean that prices had doubled.

Gas and electricity prices fell during the 1990s and early 2000s, but have increased since then.

The largest shock came in 2022 and 2023, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent European gas prices soaring. In 2023, gas prices were almost three times higher than in 1990.

Since then, they've reduced again, but in 2025, gas was still about twice as expensive as in 1990, and electricity 93% more expensive.

The chart shows average household bills since 2014, broken down by electricity and gas.

In 2025, the average household paid £1,069 for electricity and £834 for gas, for typical use of 3,400 kWh of electricity and 11,200 kWh of gas.

Together, that is £1,903, 21% more than in 2014 after adjusting for inflation, but well below the peak of £2,448 in 2023.

Ofgem, the energy regulator, sets a cap on what suppliers can charge households for each unit of energy, which covers most households. The cap is built up from the costs suppliers face. For October to December 2026, a typical household paying by direct debit pays £1,723 a year at the cap (£1,655 in 2025 prices, as shown in the chart).

Wholesale energy is the largest component, at 47% of the bill. The cost of the networks of pipes and wires that carry gas and electricity makes up 24%, and suppliers' operating costs 13%.

Government policies, such as subsidies for renewables, make up 6%, down from 11% in winter 2018/19, after the government moved most of these costs to general taxation in April 2026.

Using the chart options, you can see this breakdown for gas and electricity, separately.

Businesses and households typically don't pay the same prices for electricity, or gas. You can compare the unit prices in the chart below.

Businesses, particularly larger ones, generally pay less per unit of energy, and they can usually reclaim VAT. In 2025, households paid 29.7p per kilowatt-hour of electricity on average, small businesses 29.1p, medium-sized businesses 25.9p, and large businesses 24.4p.

Manufacturers pay even less than households and businesses per unit of energy.

They paid 16.2p per kilowatt-hour of electricity in 2025, 76% more than in 1990 after adjusting for inflation. The price they paid for gas almost doubled over the same period, to 3.6p.

UK electricity is among the most expensive in Europe. In 2025, households paid 29.7p per kilowatt-hour, more than in any EU country except Germany, Ireland and Belgium, and well above the median of 21.8p across the EU and the UK.

For businesses, the gap is wider still: medium-sized UK businesses paid 25.9p, the highest of any of these countries and almost twice the median.

Using the options in the chart, you can also compare gas prices. Here, things are different: UK households and businesses paid a little less for gas than the median across the EU.

The Winter Fuel Payment is a yearly, tax-free payment to help pensioners with heating costs. It was introduced in 1997, and is paid to households with someone over State Pension age: £200 a year, or £300 if someone is aged 80 or over.

Spending peaked at £4.3 billion in 2008/09, when one-off additions were paid on top of the usual rates. Those additions ended in 2011, and the rates have not been raised since, so spending has fallen in real terms.

In 2024/25, the payment was limited to pensioners on Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits, and spending in England and Wales fell to £318 million. From winter 2025/26 it went back to all pensioners, but those with incomes over £35,000 pay it back through the tax system.