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Export ratesThe energy price cap, and what it does to your solar payback
The price cap is not a cap on your bill. It sets the maximum price of a unit, and that price is exactly what every unit of your own solar is worth to you.
Updated 4 August 2026 · from the OVO Solar & Battery team
What the price cap actually caps
The cap sets a maximum on two things: the price of a unit of energy and the daily standing charge. It does not put a ceiling on your total bill. Use more, pay more. For the quarter running from 1 July to 30 September 2026, Ofgem's average capped electricity rate is 26.11p per kWh, with a standing charge of 57.19p a day.
| What the cap sets | 1 July to 30 September 2026 | On the benchmark household |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity unit rate | 26.11p per kWh | 2,500 kWh a year, £652.75 |
| Electricity standing charge | 57.19p per day | 365 days, £208.74 |
| Gas unit rate | 7.33p per kWh | 9,500 kWh a year, £696.35 |
| Gas standing charge | 29.04p per day | 365 days, £106.00 |
| Typical dual fuel bill | £1,663 a year | The four rows above, added together |
Ofgem average capped rates for 1 July to 30 September 2026 paying by Direct Debit. Rates vary by region and by payment method, so your own unit rate will differ from the average. The benchmark household is Ofgem's Typical Domestic Consumption Value, revised in 2026 to 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year. Figures checked on 3 August 2026.
A price cap, not a bill cap
The £1,663 headline is those capped rates applied to a benchmark household. If your home uses more than 2,500 kWh of electricity a year, and plenty do, your bill will be higher than the headline while your unit rate is identical. That is the cap working as designed, not a supplier overcharging you.
The £199 that vanished without a price cut
On 27 May 2026 Ofgem announced a 13% rise, taking the typical annual bill from £1,641 to £1,862 on the consumption basis in use at the time. Electricity went up by around 5% and gas by around 24%, driven by wholesale gas prices. Then the typical figure was restated to £1,663. No rate changed. Ofgem had cut its Typical Domestic Consumption Values to 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas, because households now get through 7% less electricity and 17% less gas than they did against the October 2023 benchmark.
Why £1,862 and £1,663 describe the same cap
Both numbers are the same capped unit rates multiplied by a benchmark household. The first used the old benchmark, the second uses the new one. Nothing about the price of your electricity changed between them. When you see a bill figure quoted anywhere, the question worth asking is which consumption basis it sits on.
What the cap does to your solar maths, and what it does not
Solar pays you in two separate currencies. There is the electricity you generate and use yourself, which is worth whatever you would otherwise have paid to import it. And there is the electricity you send to the grid, which is worth whatever your export tariff pays. The cap only touches one of those.
- It sets what your own solar is worth. Every unit you generate and use in the house is a unit you do not buy at 26.11p. When the cap rises, that saving rises with it. When it falls, the saving falls too.
- It does not give you a standing charge saving. That 57.19p a day is £208.74 a year, and you pay it whether your roof makes 5,000 kWh or nothing at all. Solar cuts the unit part of an electricity bill, never the fixed part.
- It does not set your export rate. Smart Export Guarantee rates are set by suppliers, not by Ofgem, and they sit entirely outside the cap. OVO pays 20p per kWh where OVO installs both the solar and the battery, or 15p for solar only, on systems under 30kW where you also take your electricity supply from OVO. That rate does not move when the cap moves.
- It says nothing about your gas. Most of the benchmark household's energy by volume is gas, 9,500 kWh against 2,500 kWh of electricity. Solar and a battery do not reduce that side of the bill.
Want the capped rate for your own region applied to your own roof? The free 45 minute video design does that on the call, with no home visit and a written quote before you hang up.
Get your free quote →A worked example on a twelve panel system
Take a 5.4 kWp system, twelve panels, on a home using 3,500 kWh of electricity a year with a 5.2 kWh battery. At the UK average yield of 998 kWh per kWp it makes about 5,389 kWh a year. Roughly 3,875 kWh of that goes to the grid and about 1,514 kWh gets used in the house.
| Where the money comes from | Units a year | Worth | Set by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar used in the house | 1,514 kWh | £395 | The price cap, at 26.11p |
| Solar exported to the grid | 3,875 kWh | £775 | Your export tariff, at 20p |
| Total return | 5,389 kWh | £1,170 | Both, in a two thirds to one third split |
Modelled example, not a quote. Based on a twelve panel 5.4 kWp system at the UK average yield of 998 kWh per kWp, a home using 3,500 kWh of electricity a year with someone in part of the day, and a 5.2 kWh battery. Import valued at the Ofgem average capped rate of 26.11p per kWh for 1 July to 30 September 2026. Export valued at OVO's 20p SEG Install Exclusive rate, which requires OVO to have installed both the solar and the battery, a system under 30kW and an OVO electricity supply. Rates checked 3 August 2026 and subject to change. Your own generation, split and rate will differ.
A 10% swing in the cap moves this system by about 3%
Put the capped unit rate up 10%, to 28.72p, and the self use half of that return goes from £395 to £435. Take it down 10%, to 23.50p, and it drops to £356. The total annual return moves by roughly £40 either way on £1,170. Two thirds of the return sits on a contracted export rate the cap does not touch, which is what makes a system with a battery and a strong export rate less exposed to what Ofgem announces each quarter.
The other lever is when you buy. The 26.11p figure is an average across a standard tariff, and time of use tariffs sit outside it. Overnight EV rates on the market ran from 6.99p to 9p a unit when we checked on 3 August 2026. A battery is what lets you buy at the cheap end of that spread and keep your roof's output free to export, which is the point our solar and battery strategy page works through, and the eligibility detail sits on the Smart Export Guarantee page.
What happens on 26 August
Ofgem publishes the cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 by 26 August, and it takes effect on 1 October. Around 22 million accounts, roughly 40% of the market, sit on fixed tariffs and are not affected by it at all. Current levels remain well below the 2022 peak of £2,500.
Read the unit rate, not the headline bill
The bill figure depends on a benchmark household that has been changed once already this year. The pence per kWh is the number that decides what your solar is worth.
Check which consumption basis a figure uses
A quoted annual bill is only comparable to another one on the same Typical Domestic Consumption Values. Comparing across the 2026 revision will show you a change that never happened.
Check your region and payment method
The published rates are national averages. Regional rates differ, and paying by Direct Debit is priced differently from prepayment or on receipt of bill.
Leave your export rate out of it
Whatever the announcement says, a contracted export rate is unaffected. Only the import half of your solar return reprices.
See what your roof would generate and export before you speak to anyone, then book the free design call with your local OVO expert if the numbers stack up. The coverage map shows who covers your area.
Get your free quote →Price cap questions, answered
Does the price cap mean my bill cannot go above £1,663?
No. The cap limits the price of a unit and the daily standing charge, not the total you pay. The £1,663 figure is those capped rates applied to a benchmark household using 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year. A home that uses more than the benchmark will pay more than the headline while paying exactly the same rate per unit.
Why did the typical bill figure change from £1,862 to £1,663?
Ofgem revised its Typical Domestic Consumption Values, the benchmark household used to convert capped rates into an annual bill. Households now use 7% less electricity and 17% less gas than they did against the October 2023 benchmark. The unit rates did not change at all between the two figures, so nobody's electricity got cheaper. Only the arithmetic used to describe a typical bill changed.
Does solar save me anything on the standing charge?
No. At 57.19p a day the electricity standing charge is £208.74 a year and it is payable regardless of how much your roof generates. Solar and a battery cut the unit part of your bill, which for the benchmark household is £652.75 of the electricity total. That distinction matters when you are working out what a system can realistically take off a bill.
If the price cap falls, does solar stop being worth it?
It reduces the value of the electricity you use yourself, in direct proportion. It does nothing to the value of what you export, because export rates are set by suppliers rather than by Ofgem. On our modelled twelve panel example, about two thirds of the annual return comes from export at 20p, so a 10% fall in the cap moves the total by around 3%.
Is my export rate affected by the price cap?
No. Smart Export Guarantee rates sit outside the cap entirely and each supplier sets its own. OVO pays 20p per kWh where OVO installs both the solar and the battery, or 15p per kWh for solar only, on systems under 30kW where you also take your electricity supply from OVO. Rates were checked on 3 August 2026 and, like every published tariff, are subject to change.
When does the next price cap take effect, and how much notice do I get?
The cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 is published by 26 August 2026 and applies from 1 October. Caps run in three month blocks, so a level announced in late August is already fixed for that quarter. If you are on a fixed tariff rather than a standard variable one, the announcement does not change what you pay.
Figures and specifications in this guide are sourced below and were checked on the date shown. Rates and product specifications change; we confirm the current picture on your free design call.
Sources
- Ofgem, energy price cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026, average capped unit rates and standing charges, checked 3 August 2026 ofgem.gov.uk
- Ofgem press release, 13% price cap rise announced 27 May 2026, fixed tariff account numbers and the October 2026 publication date ofgem.gov.uk
- E.ON Next price cap page, restated typical bill of £1,663 on the revised Typical Domestic Consumption Values, checked 3 August 2026 eonnext.com
- OVO Energy, Smart Export Guarantee tariffs, rates and eligibility criteria, checked 3 August 2026 ovoenergy.com
- OVO Solar and Battery, the twelve panel modelled example, generation yield and self consumption assumptions used across this site ovosolarandbattery.co.uk
- EDF and E.ON Next published EV tariff pages, overnight unit rates checked 3 August 2026 supplier tariff pages
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