Price cap increase leaves households facing higher bills until April 2026 when £150 government support arrives.
Utility Warehouse can help save on bills. (Image: Jordi Salas via Getty Images)
As winter sets in, energy bills are on the rise once more, with the January price cap increase hitting households at the peak of gas and electricity usage. Despite recent headlines promising future bill reductions following the Autumn Budget, many consumers may not realise that there’s a delay between the announcement and the actual implementation of these savings.
This is due to the much-discussed £150 reduction not coming into effect until April 2026. Until then, the elevated price cap remains in place throughout the coldest months when heating costs soar.
Holding out for relief in spring could result in higher payments from December through March, before any assistance comes into play. Moreover, wholesale prices and network charges could fluctuate again in the interim.
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One strategy to safeguard against this is to switch to a fixed tariff below the current price cap, thereby securing lower rates during the priciest part of the year and sidestepping further instability. Utility Warehouse (UW), a UK provider offering energy alongside other household services, currently provides this price certainty.
They also offer the opportunity to make additional savings by bundling energy with broadband, mobile or insurance, reports the Daily Record. Homeowners can benefit from welcome credit via the UW Cashback Card, and receive assistance from local partners who help customise deals to suit individual households.
Utility Warehouse
Utility Warehouse (UW) is a UK provider that supplies energy alongside other household services
In the realm of energy, UW provides fixed tariffs, ensuring that the unit price consumers pay for gas and electricity remains constant for a specified duration. By securing tariffs now, rates remain unaffected even if wholesale prices increase prior to the next price cap revision.
UW’s fixed tariffs are reportedly designed with future market fluctuations in mind, including impending policy changes, so customers aren’t dependent on subsequent price reductions. This approach aids in distributing costs more evenly throughout the year, avoiding higher bills during the winter peak season.
Customers can manage all their utilities through a single bill and account, and UW also operates via a network of local partners who can clarify options and assist with transitions. Utility Warehouse serves over a million households in the UK and is a Which? Recommended Provider for both energy and broadband, boasting an ‘Excellent’ Trustpilot rating.
For those seeking alternatives, Octopus Energy might be worth considering. As per their website, they claim to offer Britain’s ‘fairest energy tariff for electricity, gas or both’, and provide a variety of services, including smart tariffs, ‘Octopus Tracker’ offering daily prices that follow the wholesale cost of energy, and ‘Agile Octopus’, which updates half-hourly electricity prices daily.
Utilita Energy is another provider offering smart energy solutions, smart meters, transparent pricing and an energy hub. They also provide solar panel and battery storage packages tailored to individual requirements.
With that in mind, Utility Warehouse has received increasingly strong reviews on Trustpilot, achieving a 4.3 out of 5-star rating from more than 70,000 customer reviews. One reviewer commented: “I have been with this company for a very long time now and it’s been amazing with me.” Another noted: “Very good support from customer services.”
Some customers deducted a star, with one explaining: “Very, very efficient. Short wait on phone calls. Pleasant staff. You lost a star because you no longer show the balance after each entry. You used to when I first joined UW.”
However, the majority expressed satisfaction, with another customer stating: “Very good savings and very good customer service.”