What happened this week: Ofgem is about to reset the rules for default energy prices
Ofgem has confirmed it will publish the next energy price cap on 27 May 2026, covering the period 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026. This is not a “price freeze” and it’s not a single national bill figure—it’s a set of maximum unit rates (what you pay per kWh) and standing charges (what you pay per day) for households on default tariffs (Standard Variable Tariffs and similar).
Why is that a big heating story? Because for most homes around Bordon, Whitehill, Liphook, Alton, Farnham and Haslemere, the largest slice of annual energy spend is still space heating and hot water. When the cap moves, the cost of every hour your boiler runs, every shower, and every evening your radiators are on can shift with it—especially if you’re on a cap-linked tariff.
Why it matters: the cap changes your “price per unit”, not your usage
Homeowners often hear a headline like “typical bills will be £X” and assume that’s what they’ll pay. In practice, what you pay depends on:
- How much energy you use (kWh) for heating, hot water and appliances
- Your tariff type (cap-linked SVT vs fixed vs time-of-use)
- Your meter (smart meter vs traditional; single-rate vs Economy 7, etc.)
- Your home’s heat loss (insulation, draughts, glazing) and your heating controls
Ofgem’s announcement matters because it’s a firm date when suppliers—and households—get clarity about the maximum they can charge for unit rates and standing charges from July. Even if the cap goes down, a leaky house or a poorly controlled system can still produce high bills. If it goes up, the same waste gets more expensive overnight.
What it means technically (plain English): unit rates, standing charges and “typical usage” explained
1) Unit rates: the cost of each kWh of gas or electricity
A kWh is simply a unit of energy. Your boiler burns gas to produce heat; your heat pump uses electricity to move heat. Your bill is largely the number of kWh you use multiplied by the unit rate.
For heating, usage is driven by:
- Boiler or heat pump run-time
- Flow temperatures (higher temperatures usually mean more fuel/energy)
- System efficiency (condensing boiler performance, radiator balancing, heat pump design temperatures)
If the cap raises gas unit rates, every hour of heating costs more. If the cap raises electricity unit rates, heat pump running costs rise too. That’s why the cap is relevant whichever heating system you have.
2) Standing charges: the daily cost even if you use nothing
Standing charges cover things like network costs and metering. From a homeowner’s perspective, what matters is that you pay these charges every day, regardless of how much heating you use.
That creates two practical implications:
- If you use very little energy, standing charges form a bigger percentage of your bill.
- Trying to “beat” high prices by barely using energy won’t reduce that fixed part.
If you’re in a smaller flat in Farnham, a well-insulated newer home in Alton, or an annexe in Haslemere, standing charges can feel disproportionately painful compared with usage—and changes to the cap can make that more noticeable.
3) “Typical household” figures aren’t your bill
Ofgem and the media often quote a “typical household” cost based on a model of annual usage. Two homes on the same street in Whitehill can have very different bills because of:
- Thermostat settings (18°C vs 21°C is a massive swing)
- Hot water habits (long showers, baths, immersion use)
- Heat loss (loft insulation depth, cavity wall fill, draught proofing)
- Controls (TRVs, programmer schedules, weather compensation)
What it means financially: the cap affects your running costs and your upgrade paybacks
The moment the July cap is published, three financial questions become easier to answer.
1) Should you fix, or stay on a default tariff?
Fixed tariffs sit outside the cap (suppliers can offer fixed deals above or below the cap). Once Ofgem announces the new cap levels, you can compare:
- Your current unit rates and standing charges
- What the cap will allow from 1 July
- Any fixed-rate deals available
For homeowners around Liphook and Bordon—where many households are trying to stabilise monthly outgoings—fixing can be attractive if it reduces uncertainty. On the other hand, a fix with high standing charges or exit fees can backfire if the cap drops or your usage changes.
2) The payback on efficiency work changes as prices change
Efficiency upgrades don’t save “pounds”; they save kWh. The price cap changes how many pounds each saved kWh is worth.
Examples (in principle):
- If gas unit rates rise, boiler efficiency improvements (better controls, lower flow temps, system balancing) pay back faster.
- If electricity rises, heat pump optimisation (weather compensation, correct emitter sizing, proper commissioning) becomes even more important.
- If standing charges rise, reducing consumption alone helps less than you’d hope—so you also want to avoid paying for energy you don’t need through poor control and heat loss.
3) Summer is the best time to protect winter finances
The July–September cap covers a period when heating demand is low, so it’s easy to ignore. But summer is the ideal time to:
- Service boilers (catch faults before winter call-out rates and waiting times)
- Flush sludge and improve circulation
- Fit smarter controls or correct zoning issues
Homeowners in Alton, Farnham and Haslemere will recognise the pattern: the first cold snap hits, and suddenly everyone needs a repair “today”. Acting when the cap is announced—before winter scheduling pressure—reduces the risk of paying more later.
What it means locally: housing stock and heating patterns across our area
The price cap is national, but how it lands is local because the homes are different.
Bordon & Whitehill: mixed estates, varied insulation, lots of control issues
We see a wide range: older properties with patchy upgrades alongside newer builds. A common cost driver isn’t the boiler itself—it’s controls that aren’t being used properly: thermostats set high “just to be safe”, TRVs all wide open, and programmers heating empty rooms.
If the cap goes up, these habits become expensive. If it goes down, they can stop you benefiting.
Liphook: larger homes where hot water use adds up fast
Bigger family homes often have high hot water demand: multiple showers, possibly higher cylinder temperatures, and sometimes electric immersions left enabled “as a backup”. Immersion heaters are simple but can be costly if they run unnecessarily—especially if electricity unit rates rise under the cap.
Alton: a balance of period homes and modern builds
Alton’s period homes can leak heat through lofts, suspended floors and older windows. Here, the cheapest “upgrade” is often not a new boiler—it’s reducing heat loss and improving radiator control, so the boiler can run at lower temperatures and actually condense properly.
Farnham & Haslemere: high comfort expectations, high costs if zoning is wrong
In areas where comfort expectations are high, the biggest financial win is usually precision: heating the rooms you’re using, at the times you need, to the lowest comfortable temperature, with a system that can respond cleanly. If your home is warm but your bills are out of proportion, that’s often a sign of overshoot (system driving past target temperatures) or poor hydraulic balance.
What homeowners should do next (before 1 July): the practical checklist that actually cuts bills
1) When Ofgem publishes the cap, compare your actual unit rates—not the headline “typical bill”
Pull out your latest statement or app and note:
- Gas unit rate (p/kWh) and standing charge (p/day)
- Electric unit rate (p/kWh) and standing charge (p/day)
Then compare that with what your supplier says will apply from 1 July. This tells you whether your costs are set to rise or fall without guessing.
2) If you have a gas boiler: lower your flow temperature (safely) to boost condensing efficiency
Many boilers are set hotter than needed. A modern condensing boiler is most efficient when it can condense—usually achieved with a lower return temperature, which often means running a lower flow temperature.
Practical approach:
- If you have a combi boiler, there are typically separate settings for hot water and heating. Don’t confuse the two.
- Reduce the central heating flow temperature gradually and see if the house still heats properly.
- If rooms struggle, that can indicate balancing issues, undersized radiators, or sludge restricting flow—not automatically “you need a new boiler”.
This single adjustment can reduce gas usage, making whatever the July cap brings less painful.
3) If you have a hot water cylinder: check your schedule and avoid accidental immersion spend
Cylinders are great for comfort, but costs creep in when:
- The cylinder thermostat is set unnecessarily high
- Hot water is heating multiple times per day
- The immersion is left on continuously
A properly controlled cylinder should heat once (or twice) at planned times, not constantly. If electricity prices move up under the cap, immersion use is one of the first places bills spike.
4) If you have a heat pump: focus on flow temperature, weather compensation and steady operation
Heat pumps are at their best when they run steadily at lower temperatures. If you’re “boosting” often, running very hot flow temperatures, or switching on/off aggressively, you can lose performance and push running costs up—especially under a higher electricity unit rate cap.
Ask yourself:
- Is weather compensation enabled and tuned?
- Are room thermostats fighting the heat pump’s controls?
- Are radiators or underfloor circuits correctly balanced?
Small configuration changes can have a bigger impact than people expect.
5) Get your controls doing the work: TRVs, thermostats, and time schedules
If you do nothing else before winter, get your control strategy sorted while it’s warm outside and you can test changes calmly.
- Programmer: set heating times around real occupancy (not “all day, just in case”).
- Thermostat: choose a target that’s comfortable, then hold it steady rather than constantly turning it up and down.
- TRVs: use them to stop overheating bedrooms and little-used rooms.
This matters locally because many of our homes in Bordon, Whitehill and surrounding villages have extended layouts—if you heat the whole house to the same level all day, you’ll feel the cap change more than necessary.
6) Don’t ignore little faults: they become big bills under higher unit rates
Any cap increase magnifies waste. Watch for:
- Radiators cold at the bottom (possible sludge)
- Noisy boiler or kettling
- Short cycling (boiler repeatedly turning on/off)
- Inconsistent hot water temperature
These aren’t just reliability problems—they’re efficiency problems. Fixing them is often cheaper than you think compared with paying higher unit rates for months.
What to expect next: 27 May sets the prices, but your actions set the outcome
Ofgem’s 27 May update will tell us the maximum suppliers can charge on capped default tariffs from 1 July. That will shape household energy costs through July, August and September—and it will influence decisions people make going into the next heating season.
The key point for homeowners across Bordon, Whitehill, Liphook, Alton, Farnham and Haslemere is this: the cap changes the price of energy, but the biggest lever you control is still how efficiently your home turns that energy into comfort. If your system is clean, well-controlled and correctly set up, you’re protected whether the cap rises or falls.
Need a boiler service, a controls upgrade, or a system efficiency check before the July cap takes effect? Call (01420) 558993, email helpdesk@embassygas.com, or book at https://www.embassygas.com/book.