Energy costs rose again and your business has no price cap

Yesterday, energy got more expensive.

From 1 October 2026, the Ofgem price cap rose by 4 percent.

The typical household bill is now £1,723 a year for gas and electricity on direct debit.

Diesel hit a record high at the same time.

The RAC reported diesel at 199.18p a litre on 28 September.

By 1 October some forecourts were charging over £2 a litre.

The government did soften one blow.

VAT has been removed from electricity bills from 1 October 2026 until 31 March 2027.

The price cap figures already include that cut.

The part everyone gets wrong

The price cap does not apply to your business.

It only covers domestic customers on standard variable tariffs.

Your business meter is priced by contract.

The rate you pay is whatever you agreed when you signed.

If you never signed anything, you are on the supplier's deemed or out of contract rates.

Those are consistently the most expensive rates available.

The crisis support schemes that helped firms in 2022 and 2023 are closed.

Nothing new has been announced.

So the only thing that protects a small business from rising energy prices is a signed contract.

What to do this month

1. Find your contract end date.

Check your last bill or renewal letter.

Most contracts can be renewed up to 12 months ahead.

Most renewal windows open 3 to 6 months before the end date.

2. Never let a contract roll over.

If you do nothing when your deal ends, you land on rollover or deemed rates.

These are the dearest prices in the market.

Give notice inside the window, even if you have not picked a new supplier yet.

3. Know your rights as a tiny firm.

Ofgem gives extra protections to micro businesses.

That means fewer than 10 people working in the business.

You must get a renewal reminder from your supplier.

Your notice period cannot be longer than 30 days.

You can give notice at any time and still switch on your end date.

4. Compare the full picture, not just the unit rate.

Look at the unit rate and the standing charge and the contract length together.

A low unit rate with a high standing charge can cost a low usage workshop more overall.

5. Consider fixing for 12 to 24 months.

A fixed contract is the closest thing to a cap a business can get.

The rate cannot move until the deal ends.

Read what happens at the end of it before you sign.

6. Put rising costs into your quotes.

Fuel and workshop power are job costs, not overheads you absorb.

If your diesel bill has gone up 40 percent this year, your quotes need to know about it.

Review your prices at least once a quarter when costs are moving fast.

7. Track fuel and energy against jobs.

Keep the receipts for every fill up and every power bill.

Split them across the jobs you did that week or month.

That is the only way to see your true margin on each job.

How PlusWise helps

Rising costs only hurt when you cannot see them.

PlusWise keeps your clients, jobs, quotes, invoices and expenses in one place.

When you quote a job, your recent fuel and material costs are right there.

When you invoice, the job's costs are already recorded against it.

You see which jobs made money and which ones just kept you busy.

No guesswork, and no nasty surprises when the van needs filling and the power bill lands.

That clarity is the difference between absorbing rising costs and pricing for them.