Tea-drinkers face £38.12 charges from July

Kettles could be costing some UK households around £38.12 under the incoming price cap when projected over 12 months, according to calculations by The Express. Last Wednesday (May 27), the energy regulator Ofgem announced a 13% increase of the energy price cap for the period covering Monday, July 1 to September 30, 2026.

The price cap refers to the default tariff applied when a customer isn't on a fixed-rate tariff, the regulator explains on its website. The cap, which is set by Ofgem, sets a maximum rate per unit and standing charge that can be billed to customers for their energy use (both electricity and gas). The regulator said the increase is a "result of higher wholesale gas prices, caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East", with fuel and other costs skyrocketing in the wake of the US and Israel's late February strikes on Iran.

The rise factored into the cap largely is made up by the surging price of gas, but electricity has risen by around 5% too.

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From July 1, people in England, Wales, and Scotland on a standard variable tariff, and who pay for their electricity via Direct Debit, will pay 26.11p per kilowatt hour (kWh) on average, significantly higher than the current April price cap (24.67p per kWh).

It means you may have costlier electricity bills next month, at a time when other costs, including the price of petrol and groceries are also uncomfortably high for many households.

Kettles are among the most energy-intensive appliances on your kitchen, though they only use electricity for a short amount of time to boil water for cooking or a cup of tea.

Brits are famous tea-lovers, and the Energy Saving Trust previously estimated that we boil our kettles at least four times a day on average.

Regularly sticking the kettle on is something many do without evening thinking. But how much is it costing in the long run?

Smart Money Tools' electricity cost caluculator allows you to select from a range of appliances and see roughly how much they will add to your electricity bill you based on whatever price cap you enter.

For an electric kettle, it assumes a rough baseline of 12 minutes of use per day. Let's assume that means four boils, with three minutes of boiling time per go, which while a bit on the long side, may be accounted for by considering times when the kettle is full or overfilled to heat up water for cooking.

At any rate, it gives us a broad measuring stick to get a sense of the costs. According to the tool, this level of usage under the current cap works out to 10p per day, £3 per month, and £36.02 when the cost is projected over 12 months.

From July 1, the cost will remain at around 10p per day (as the increase is in fractions of a penny) but rise to £3.18 per month, representing a projected cost over 12 months of £38.12.

However, much will obviously depend on how much water you're boiling, and how often you use it.

Additionally, while the estimates can give us an illustrative sense of the costs the cap represents over a longer period, the maximum limit on unit rates and standard charges is reviewed by the regulator every three months and doesn't remain in place for a full year.

You will also have to take into account the daily standing charge for using electricity, which will decrease slightly to 57.19p per day from July 1, though this is a flat fee covering all the electricity you're using.

One way to protect yourself from price cap hikes is to get on a fixed rate that can shield you from global shocks over a set period.

Ofgem says currently, 40% (22 million) of accounts are fixed tariffs and are therefore unaffected by the July 1 price rise.