How do I get the energy price cut from April 2026?
Energy prices are dropping from April 1st, driven by the government cutting some levies from electricity bills.
We know how much Brits needed some relief. We fought hard for this change and we’ll keep fighting for fairer prices.
You don’t need to do anything: we’ll automatically apply the savings to your tariff.
Here’s what you need to know.
How do I make sure I get the price drop?
Short answer: you don’t need to do anything, we’ll apply it for you automatically.
- On a fixed tariff? Even though you've locked in your rates, we’ll manually lower your electricity and gas unit rates on April 1st to pass the savings on to you until the end of your fix. After that, you’ll get new tariff options based on the latest market costs (which will also take the policy drops into account).
- On a variable tariff (Flexible Octopus)? Your rates will automatically drop on April 1st in line with the new, lower energy price cap.
Hear from our founder, Greg Jackson, on what the price drop means for you:
Why are prices dropping?
Back in October, we gave the government a stark warning about the impact of spiralling policy costs on customers. In the November ‘25 Budget, the government acted: announcing they would cut ~£150 of policy costs off the average energy bill, starting from April 1st.
Today, the regulator made that pledge a reality when it set the energy price cap for April – a cut of £117, or around 7% – for a typical dual-fuel customer.
The price cap protects customers on standard variable tariffs, but we pledged to pass these cuts on to all our fixed tariffs as well, so that even customers with locked-in prices could see the benefits immediately. We’re really pleased to see other suppliers have followed suit.
You could save by fixing your prices: lock in with no exit fees online.
If the government cut costs by £150, why is the energy price cap only dropping £117?
Policy costs are just one part of the costs that make up your bill. The government's cuts to policy costs, and recent drops in wholesale prices, have been offset by increases to some other costs. In this case, network costs have increased £66 for the average customer to help pay for massive upcoming grid upgrades.
All the changes together work out to a £117 saving overall.
Where do we go next?
We know how badly Brits need their bills to come down.
Energy is the second-biggest household expense after rent or mortgage.
We’ve got a long history of fighting for fairer bills – back in 2018, when we were just a tiny startup, we led the charge to bring in an energy price cap while incumbents fought against it. And we’ve been fighting ever since.
Our director of regulation, Rachel Fletcher, addressed parliament back in October with a stark warning that policy costs were getting out of control. Her message got cross-industry support from other large suppliers and we're so pleased to see the government take action on behalf of customers.
So, this is a welcome change, but it’s just the beginning. British energy bills remain some of the highest in the world.
We'll keep working relentlessly to make energy fairer for all.
What’s the difference between the government’s ‘policy price drop’ and the energy price cap?
- The government announced cuts to energy policy costs in the last Budget (November '25), coming into force from April 1st.
- The energy price cap is set quarterly by Ofgem, the energy regulator, based on the latest supply costs (including policy changes). It sets the maximum rates a supplier can charge on a variable tariff. The April ‘26 cap factors in the government’s policy cost cuts.
How does it work for smart tariffs?
It works the same as a standard tariff. If you’re on a fixed smart tariff, we’ll apply the policy cut to your rates automatically from April 1st. If you’re on a variable smart tariff, we update our prices every so often based on the latest market costs and will apply the policy cuts on top of that from April 1st.
Published on 25th February 2026 by:
Hey I'm Constantine, welcome to Octopus Energy!
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