On 1 October 2026 Ofgem's energy price cap went up by 4%. For a typical dual-fuel household paying by direct debit that is about £1,723 a year, roughly £60 more than the summer. The cap runs to 31 December, and the early forecasts for January point to another rise, not a fall.
Two things worth knowing before you panic. First, the cap limits the unit price of gas and electricity, not your total bill, so what you pay still comes down to how much you use. Second, Ofgem itself says fixed tariffs are currently available at around £100 a year below the October cap, so it is worth a ten-minute comparison before winter proper.
What moves a heating bill, in order
- How long the heating runs. The timer matters more than the thermostat. Heating an empty house from 9 to 5 is money out of the window, and modern boilers recover a cold house quickly.
- The room thermostat setting. Each degree lower saves a noticeable chunk over a winter. 19 to 20°C is comfortable for most homes; 23°C is a holiday.
- The boiler's flow temperature. The single free fix most people have never touched. Most combis leave the factory at 70 to 80°C. Turning the radiator flow down to 60°C lets a condensing boiler actually condense, which cuts gas use by around 6 to 9% with no loss of comfort in most homes. We have a step-by-step guide on it.
- Radiators that are cold at the top or bottom. Air at the top, sludge at the bottom. Both mean the boiler runs longer to hit the same temperature. Bleeding is a five-minute job; sludge needs a flush.
- The boiler itself. An old non-condensing boiler can turn 30 to 40p of every pound of gas into waste heat up the flue. A modern condensing boiler runs at 90% or better. If yours is 15 years old and on its third fault this winter, the sums usually change. See our piece on when to repair and when to replace.
What we would do this week
Check the pressure gauge (1 to 1.5 bar cold), bleed any radiator that is cold at the top, set the heating timer to the hours you are actually home, and turn the flow temperature down to 60°C if you have a combi. If the boiler has been throwing a code, run it through our free fault code checker before you ring anyone.
How toastd can help
We service, repair and replace boilers across Halesowen, Cradley Heath, Stourbridge, Dudley and the Black Country. A service costs less than a month of the price rise and catches the problems that turn into breakdowns in January. Send your postcode and number and our team rings you back today.
Sources: Ofgem press release, "Energy price cap will rise 4% in October 2026" (August 2026); Nesta, Money Saving Boiler Challenge (flow temperature research).