Definition: The unit rate is the price you pay per kilowatt-hour of energy you actually use, on top of the daily standing charge. Under the July–September 2026 price cap the GB average is 26.11p/kWh for electricity and 7.33p/kWh for gas.

What a unit buys

One kilowatt-hour runs a 3 kW kettle for about 20 minutes or a typical washing machine cycle. A typical dual-fuel household pays about £1,862 a year at the current cap — up 13.5% on April–June 2026, with gas up around 24% and electricity around 5% (Ofgem, July 2026). Rates vary across the 14 GB distribution regions and by payment method; the capped figures assume Direct Debit. Time-of-use tariffs such as Economy 7 and EV tariffs charge different unit rates at different times of day — usually requiring a smart meter — which is how overnight car charging and storage heating stay affordable.

Why the electricity–gas gap matters

Electricity costs about 3.6 times as much per kWh as gas. That makes direct electric heating expensive — but a heat pump with a SCOP of 3.5 turns each kWh of electricity into 3.5 kWh of heat, bringing the cost per unit of heat to roughly 7.5p, on a par with a 90%-efficient gas boiler’s ~8.1p. That arithmetic — explained in our guide to COP and heating bills — is why efficiency ratios, not headline unit rates, decide whether electric heating is cheap. Remember the standing charge sits on top of whatever you use.

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