- Taking out a fixed deal may feel like a gamble, but switching to the day’s cheapest tariff would have saved money versus standard variable rates on every day last year[1]
- The cheapest fixed deal was lower than the price cap on 341 of the last 365 days, but even switching on days when it was higher worked out cheaper over the duration of the fix[1]
- Someone who took out a £1,459 fixed deal on 9 July 2024 when the price cap was £1,568 saved £262 compared with the real £1,721 cost of the cap over 12 months[2]
- Households saved £182 on average over the course of their fixed deal, with the lowest saving £102, and the highest reaching £289[1]
- On the 24 days when the cheapest fix was priced above the cap, the cause was market shocks – volatile wholesale prices in autumn 2024 and the Middle East conflict in spring 2026 – but prices quickly settled afterwards[3]
- Uswitch.com is urging households to fix now for certainty over their bills through October and into winter
A household switching to the cheapest fixed deal on any given day last year would have saved money versus the energy price cap, reveals new analysis of 365 days of deals by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service.
Households taking out a fixed deal were £182 better off on average than those riding the price cap, with the lowest saving being £102, and the highest hitting £289.[1]
The cheapest fixed deal available was lower than the price cap on 341 days of the past year, but even switching on days when it was higher worked out better in the long run.[1]
Someone who took out a £1,459 fixed deal on 9 July 2024 when the price cap was £1,568 would have saved £262 on the energy, once the real £1,721 cost of all four quarters of the price cap is taken into account.[2]
The cheapest fixed deal was priced below the cap on 341 of the last 365 days. On the 24 days it sat above – short wholesale spikes in autumn 2024 and during the Middle East conflict in spring 2026 – fixing still worked out cheaper over the following 12 months, because the cap rose later in the year.
In the last 12 months, these were confined to a single spell between 20 March and 25 May 2026, when conflict in the Middle East drove wholesale gas prices sharply higher. Autumn 2024 saw another burst of volatility, with wholesale prices driven up by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.[3]
With the October price cap set to increase 4%, and January’s level predicted to rise another 9%, forecasters expect bills to remain stubbornly high through the autumn and winter.[6] The cheapest fixed deal available today locks in average savings of around £158 a year against the October cap[6] – and shields households from any future rises, helping to keep bills down when weather turns cold and usage climbs.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “Over the past year, anyone taking out the cheapest fixed deal would have beaten the price cap every day of the year – by £182 on average.
“The beauty of fixing is that the rate you lock in is the rate you keep. The price cap changes every three months and can jump up with little warning, but a fixed deal holds steady for the whole length of your contract.
“There were spells – in autumn 2024 and again this spring – when global events pushed wholesale prices up and fixing briefly cost more. But even households taking out fixed deals on these days were better off than the price cap overall.
“With bills expected to stay high into the colder months, now is a sensible time to lock in. The best fixed deals are shorter than many people assume – you don’t have to commit for years to protect yourself. Run a comparison, see what’s available for your home, and fix for peace of mind before winter arrives.”
Compare fixed energy deals now at Uswitch.com
ENDS
For more information
Rianna York | Energy PR Manager
rianna.york@rvu.co.uk
Twitter: @UswitchPR
Notes to editors
Notes to editors
1. Uswitch analysis of the cheapest fixed dual-fuel tariff available each day versus the prevailing Ofgem price cap, 17 July 2024 – 16 July 2025 (365 days): the cheapest fix was below the level of the price cap on that day for 341 days (93.4%). Analysing the price cap across four quarters and comparing with each day’s cheapest fixed deal reveals that fixed deals beat the price cap on 365 days in the year.
2. OVO Energy, 1 Year Fixed Go Smart 20 June 2024, cost £1,459 on 9 July 2024
3. Days when the cheapest fix exceeded the cap clustered in two volatile periods: August–September 2024 (34 days) and 20 March – 25 May 2026 (24 days), the latter falling within the last-12-month window. Worst day: 20 March 2026 (£1,862 vs £1,758). Both coincided with wholesale price spikes linked to conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine.
4. Ofgem: Energy price cap from 1 October to 31 December 2026. January 2027 price cap prediction: £1,872 (8.6% increase on the October 2026 cap of £1,723). Cornwall Insight, 26 August 2026. Based on dual-fuel customers consuming medium energy usage as defined by Ofgem's Typical Domestic Consumption Values (TDCV) (2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas per year), paying by direct debit with paperless billing. Uswitch average of predictions from Cornwall Insight (£1,872), British Gas (£1,970). E.ON (£1,941) and EDF (£1,936) = £1,948.
5. Latest data point (16 July 2026): cheapest fix £1,453 vs price cap £1,663 – a £210 saving.
6. Contact PRteam@uswitch.com for up to date top 10 fixed energy deals table