Executive summary
Where you live has a real and often overlooked effect on your energy bill. This report maps unit rates and standing charges across the 14 licensed electricity distribution regions in Great Britain — operated by six ownership groups — quantifying the gap between the cheapest and most expensive areas for a typical household.
The differences are driven by network costs rather than supplier choice, meaning two identical homes on the same tariff can pay meaningfully different amounts purely because of their region.
Ofgem's household energy price cap and the regional figures in this report apply in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has a separate energy market and regulatory arrangements.
Key findings
- The most expensive region can cost a typical household meaningfully more than the cheapest.
- Standing charge variation is wider than unit rate variation between regions.
- Northern and rural network regions tend to carry higher distribution costs.
- Switching supplier does not remove regional cost differences — they are baked into network charges.
Why region matters
Each of the 14 licensed electricity distribution regions in Great Britain — operated by six ownership groups — recovers its own costs, and those costs vary with geography, population density and infrastructure age. Suppliers pass these regional charges straight through to your bill.
This means the 'best deal' can differ by region, and national tariff averages can be misleading for households at the extremes.
Data & charts
Explore the key figures behind this report. Charts and tables are interactive — hover, sort and compare.
Typical annual dual-fuel bill by Great Britain region
Estimated cost for a typical-consumption household across the 14 licensed electricity distribution regions in Great Britain, operated by six ownership groups. Hover a region to explore.
Source: PowerGuardian tariff monitoring & Ofgem TDCV, 2026
Average electricity standing charge over time
Daily standing charge trend for the cheapest and most expensive regions.
- Most expensive region
- Cheapest region
Source: Ofgem price cap data, 2024–2026
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Methodology
- Regional unit rates and standing charges are taken from published price cap regional breakdowns.
- Typical annual costs use Ofgem Typical Domestic Consumption Values applied to each region.
Sources & references
- Ofgem — Energy price cap — UK regulator's quarterly price cap announcements
- Ofgem — Typical Domestic Consumption Values — Standard usage assumptions for UK households
- National Energy System Operator (NESO) — electricity-system data — Electricity demand, supply mix and grid data
Figures are checked against primary sources before publication. See our methodology for details.
Editorial note
PowerGuardian publishes independent, UK-focused research, analysis and commentary on household energy costs. Confirmed data, our own estimates, forecasts and scenarios are labelled separately so you can see which is which.
This report is reviewed at each Ofgem price cap announcement and whenever a source dataset it relies on is revised. It was last reviewed on 5 July 2026.
We take no commission from energy suppliers for the rankings, scores or figures shown here.
Read our editorial policy and corrections policy.
