What happens when your fixed energy tariff ends
A fixed energy tariff fixes the unit rate you pay for gas and electricity for a set period — usually twelve or twenty-four months. It does not fix your bill: use more energy and you still pay more. What it fixes is the price per unit.
What happens on the end date
If you do nothing, you are normally moved onto your supplier's standard variable tariff. That rate moves with the wider market and is subject to the price cap set by Ofgem, which is reviewed every three months.
Whether that is better or worse than your old fix depends entirely on what has happened to wholesale prices since you fixed. It is not automatically a penalty — but it is a change you did not choose, which is a reason to know it is coming.
What the price cap is right now
For 1 October to 31 December 2026, Ofgem set the cap at £1,723 a year for a typical dual-fuel household paying by direct debit. That is a rise of 4%, or £60 a year, from £1,663 in the previous quarter. It was announced on 26 August 2026.
One thing that figure is not: a maximum bill. The cap limits unit rates and standing charges, not the total. £1,723 describes what a household using a typical amount would pay over a year — use more and you pay more, with no ceiling.
"Typical" is Ofgem's own definition, currently 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year. If your household looks nothing like that, the headline number tells you very little about your own bill.
The October rise is also not evenly spread. It is driven mostly by gas, where costs rose about 8%. Households without gas see an increase of less than 1%, so if you are all-electric the headline figure overstates what is happening to you.
- Energy price cap will rise by 4% from October 2026 — Ofgem
- Energy price cap: what it is and what it covers — Ofgem
The cap changes every quarter, so check the date above against today before relying on the number.
Fix again, or stay on the variable rate?
There is no answer that is right for everyone, and anyone who gives you one is guessing about future wholesale prices. What you can do is be clear about what you are choosing between: a fix buys certainty and removes the chance of benefiting if the cap falls; staying variable keeps that upside and the matching risk.
The practical comparison is a fixed deal against the current cap level, remembering that the cap moves quarterly — so a fix that looks marginally more expensive today may not be over its whole term, and vice versa. Weigh how much a predictable bill is worth to your household, not just the arithmetic.
When to start looking
- Find your tariff end date on a recent bill or in your online account.
- Suppliers usually contact you ahead of the end date with what they are offering next.
- Check whether an exit fee applies if you switch before the end date — many fixes waive it in the final weeks.
- Compare the standing charge as well as the unit rate. A low unit rate with a high standing charge can work out worse if you use relatively little energy.
A note on comparing
Estimated annual costs assume your usage stays roughly the same. If your circumstances have changed — someone now working from home, a new heat pump or EV — last year's usage is a poor guide, and it is worth using your actual recent consumption instead.
The date is the whole thing
Everything above depends on knowing one piece of information: when your fix ends. It is written on a bill you probably filed months ago, and there is no reminder until it has already happened.
Admini keeps that date with the rest of your household admin and flags it in advance, so the decision is one you make deliberately rather than by default.