The predictions for the Default Tariff Cap in this piece are out of date please click HERE to find our most up to date forecasts.
Cornwall Insight’s latest Default Tariff Cap (price cap) forecasts for April – June 2023 (Q223) have dropped by over £600 since the last widely released figures on 17 October1. The average consumer is now predicted to pay £3,702 from April, when the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) comes to an end. Forecasts for the latter two quarters of 2023 have also shown significant falls, as drops in the wholesale market filter through to consumer bills. Despite the falls wholesale prices remain well above historic levels.
Figures for Q123 (January – March 2023) remain high. Although wholesale prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks – particularly those for immediate term delivery – the nature of energy supplier hedging under the cap will mean that they have been largely unable to take advantage of this drop in the wholesale market.
While domestic consumers will be shielded from the increase by the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), the rise in prices will see higher costs for the government as they make up the difference with suppliers. Our forecast per unit rate for Q123 for electricity, for example, is 66.76 p/kWh which compares with 34.00 p/kWh under the EPG, while the figures for gas are 17.05 p/kWh and 10.30 p/kWh respectively.
Despite the fall in the price cap from April 2023, the prices remain significantly above the £2,500 EPG levels, which will likely prompt calls for greater government intervention
Figure 1: Cornwall Insight’s default tariff cap forecasts
| QUARTERLY | Q123 CI Forecast | Q223 CI Forecast | Q323 CI Forecast | Q423 CI Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | £2,105.42 | £1,836.23 | £1,438.48 | £1,483.88 |
| Gas | £2,149.88 | £1,866.00 | £1,719.19 | £1,698.25 |
| TOTAL | £4,255.29 | £3,702.23 | £3,157.67 | £3,182.13 |
Source: Cornwall Insight
The Price Cap is not a maximum limit on consumer energy bills, but rather a cap on how much suppliers can charge per kWh of energy used and a maximum daily standing charge. For the first time since August, Cornwall Insight is also releasing its electricity and gas forecasts figures for the unit rate (p/kWh) and standing charge (£/day), with these figures reflecting Ofgem’s underlying methodology for the Price Cap along with our own analysis.
Figure 2: Default Tariff Price cap forecasts, Per Unit Cost and Standing Charge including VAT (dual fuel, direct debit customer, national average figures)
| Electricity | Q123 Forecast | Q223 Forecast | Q323 Forecast | Q423 Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing Charge (£/day)**** | 0.46 | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.37 |
| Per Unit Costs (p/kWh)**** | 66.76 | 58.69 | 44.97 | 46.54 |
| Gas | Q123 Forecast | Q223 Forecast | Q323 Forecast | Q423 Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing Charge (£/day)**** | 0.28 | 0.31 | 0.31 | 0.30 |
| Per Unit Costs (p/kWh)**** | 17.05 | 14.62 | 13.40 | 13.23 |
Source: Cornwall Insight
Dr Craig Lowrey, Principal Consultant at Cornwall Insight said:
Many will question why, when there have been significant declines in the wholesale market since record highs were reached in late August, these are not reflected in the January – March 2023 levels. However, the structure of the cap methodology is such that suppliers are implicitly encouraged to purchase the demand requirements of their customer base in advance through hedging on the forward market, meaning that suppliers will typically not have been able to take advantage of the full extent of the declines seen over the last couple of months.
As such, even though wholesale prices on the prompt market have fallen considerably in recent weeks – as have those for periods in 2023 and beyond – this is not reflected in the cap forecasts for Q123.
Our forecasts for Q223 onwards however do illustrate the fall in the wholesale market, with these having dropped by around a quarter since the highs seen in August 2022. Despite these losses, the cap forecasts remain well above the annual sum of £2,500 per household under the EPG. With the enduring nature of support for household energy bills up for review in early 2023, the potential for volatility in energy bills will need to be addressed as part of any ongoing measures established.”
Reference:
- Cornwall Insight’s April-June 2023 figures released on 17 October predicted the price cap to be £4,347.69
–Ends
Notes to Editors
For more information, please contact: Verity Sinclair at v.sinclair@cornwall-insight.com
To link to our website, please use: https://www.cornwall-insight.com/au/
About the Cornwall Insight Group
Cornwall Insight is the pre-eminent provider of research, analysis, consulting and training to businesses and stakeholders engaged in the Australian, Great British, and Irish energy markets. To support our customers, we leverage a powerful combination of analytical capability, a detailed appreciation of regulation codes and policy frameworks, and a practical understanding of how markets function.
"The structure of the cap methodology is such that suppliers are implicitly encouraged to purchase the demand requirements of their customer base in advance through hedging on the forward market, meaning that suppliers will typically not have been able to take advantage of the full extent of the declines"
Dr Craig Lowrey Principle Consultant
