UK outdoor power prices

The day-ahead power price in the UK hit $296.28 (£241.49) per megawatt-hour (MWh) on Tuesday, with the day-ahead price for the peak evening demand soaring to $760.68 (£620.00) per MWh. With wind now generating the largest share of UK power generation, periods of low wind speeds tend to result in power price spikes.

Following the latest changes to the 'Energy Price Cap', which controls the maximum level energy suppliers can charge customers on 'Standard Variable Tariffs', the average cost of electricity per kWh in the UK is currently 25.73p. That is a 4.8% decrease compared to the previous energy price cap rates. Here is the breakdown per region:

With wind now generating the largest share of UK power generation, periods of low wind speeds tend to result in power price spikes. Wind power overtook natural gas to become – for the first time ever – the UK's largest source of electricity generation for a full year in 2024, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) said earlier this month.

This is because energy prices differ depending on which part of the country you live in, known as a PES region - standing for 'Public Electricity Suppliers' that each powered certain areas of the UK when the electricity sector was privatised in 1997. What is the average electricity standing charge across the UK?

Calm weather this year has exacerbated the energy price crisis in the UK, as gas-fired power stations have had to pick up the slack from wind farms. Energy demand has surged as countries open up from pandemic restrictions, which together with lower supplies from Russia to western Europe, has sent wholesale gas prices soaring.

The share of natural gas averaged 26.3% last year, while nuclear accounted for 14%, and solar represented 5% of the UK power generation in 2024. Last year saw a monumental moment in Britain's electricity system with the switching-off of the last remaining coal power plant in the country.