
Energy price cap will fall in July, expert forecaster predicts - is it still worth fixing your tariff now?
The energy price cap is expected to fall by £166 in July, according to expert forecasters.
Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight said the price cap will drop from £1,849 to £1,683 in July, an almost 9 per cent fall.
It means households would pay 25.01p/kWh for electricity and 6.01p for gas.
Further ahead, it expects another small fall in October's price cap, before dropping again in January 2026.
It comes after a decline in wholesale prices, in part driven by geopolitical events and market developments, including the implementation of US tariffs, as well as a fall in demand due to the hotter temperatures.
Cornwall Insight warns that while falling prices are good in the short term, they show how volatile the wholesale market is.
Any reductions priced in now could be out of date by the time the July price cap is finalised.
The impact of US tariffs could discourage Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports, which could push down US LNG prices, although there is no guarantee this would filter through to the UK.
The conflict in Ukraine could also push prices back, so Cornwall Insight warns that there will continue to be volatility in prices.
Dr Craig Lowrey , Principal Consultant at Cornwall Insight says: "While a fall in bills will always be welcomed by households, we mustn't get ahead of ourselves. We have all seen markets go up as fast as they go down, and the very fact the market dropped so quickly shows how vulnerable it to geopolitical and market shifts.
'There is unfortunately no guarantee that any fall in prices will be sustained, and there is always the risk of the market rebounding.
'The only real way to protect households from this constant cycle of instability and insecurity is to reduce our dependence on international wholesale markets. That means continuing to focus on growing low carbon energy generation here in Great Britain and building a more secure, more sustainable energy future.'
Is it a good time to fix your energy bill?
Many households chose to fix their energy bill ahead of the April price cap increase to save money on their bills.
Suppliers are still offering competitive fixed deals that undercut April's price cap, but with prices set to fall in July, will households still save money>
The best deal on the market currently is Outfox the Market's 12-month deal, which offers a saving of £300 a year. This means that if you chose to fix now with an average annual bill of £1,549, you'd still be saving money once the cap falls in July.
Its 18-month deal offers a saving of £290 while its 24-month offer saves £285.
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Reuters
19 hours ago
- Reuters
Japan returns to long-term LNG deals on AI boom, national energy plan
TOKYO/SINGAPORE, June 19 (Reuters) - Japan is back in the spotlight for liquefied natural gas producers as the boom in artificial intelligence, rising costs for cleaner energy and a new national energy plan drive appetite for long-term LNG deals. While imports by China, the world's biggest LNG importer, are expected to fall this year, buyers in number two Japan are securing long-term supply deals again, including a potential landmark deal with Qatar. Japan's LNG imports had fallen for a decade as nuclear power plants, idled after the Fukushima disaster, restarted and as renewable energy sources increased. Data centres are expected to use enormous amounts of power to sustain the AI boom, while Japan's 7th Strategic Energy Plan in February identified gas as a realistic transition fuel for the nation's goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2050 and "an important energy source even after carbon neutrality". "We had expected that electricity demand in Japan would decline, but the growth of data centres is bending that curve," Yukio Kani, global CEO of JERA, the country's top power generator and LNG buyer, told Reuters. "If we want quick solutions for data centres, Japan needs LNG. That is one external change." Rising costs have also dimmed prospects for alternative fuels like hydrogen and ammonia, Kani said. "Until two or three years ago, we expected faster development of ammonia, but now we have to pause," he said. "So we've been shifting back to LNG over the past year or so." In Japan's energy plan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry forecast annual LNG demand would fall to between 53 million and 61 million tons in 2040 if it met its emissions reductions target, from 66 million tons last year. But in a risk scenario where decarbonisation technologies lag, METI forecast demand could instead rise to 74 million tons. The plan calls for public-private cooperation to secure long-term contracts for the super-chilled fuel, given price volatility and supply disruption risks. Under Japan's previous decarbonisation-focussed energy plan, gas importers had hesitated to sign long-term contracts. The new plan makes it easier for buyers to commit to long-term contracts, said Takashi Uchida, chairman of the Japan Gas Association and top city gas provider Tokyo Gas (9531.T), opens new tab. "It's very clear that LNG has a role to play as a transition fuel, and it's now firmly still in the mix for this investment cycle," said Lachlan Clancy, energy partner at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. Japan has also been auctioning new gas-fired power capacity mainly to replace aging coal power plants, awarding 7 gigawatts (GW) over the past two years, according to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators, Japan. In March the organisation projected LNG-fired capacity would rise to 85.75 GW by 2034 from 79.98 GW in 2024. Japan's energy plan projects power generation will increase by between 12% and 22% from 2023 levels to between 1,100 and 1,200 terawatt-hours in 2040. Consumption by Japan's data centres will soar 80%, or about 15 TWh, by 2030, the International Energy Agency forecasts. To feed this growth, Morgan Stanley sees Japan's LNG imports rising to 78 million tons in 2030 as gas-fired power generation rises amid high costs for generating solar and wind power. Among the spate of deals since METI released the energy plan, Osaka Gas (9532.T), opens new tab signed a 15-year pact with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Kyushu Electric Power (9508.T), opens new tab said it would sign a deal with Energy Transfer (ET.N), opens new tab, its first long-term deal with a U.S. supplier, and JERA inked four 20-year deals with U.S. suppliers NextDecade (NEXT.O), opens new tab, Sempra Infrastructure, Cheniere Marketing and Commonwealth LNG. By comparison, from late 2022 to early this year, Japanese buyers had announced only three deals longer than 10 years. More deals are likely soon, Rystad Energy analyst Masanori Odaka predicts, as some utilities seek to replace expiring volumes for supply security and meet seasonal demand. JERA and Mitsui & Co (8031.T), opens new tab are in talks for long-term supply from QatarEnergy's North Field expansion project, Reuters reported last month. Uncertainty persists, however, over Japan's demand for LNG, tied to questions over its ability to meet its carbon neutrality targets and its pace of nuclear plant restarts. To address this, importers are enhancing trading operations and pursuing flexible-term contracts. "With the government presenting multiple future scenarios, it is no longer possible to provide a definitive outlook for energy supply and demand - highlighting the uncertainty ahead," said Tokyo Gas' Uchida.


Reuters
20 hours ago
- Reuters
Asia's only LNG bright spot may be about to get red hot
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The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Revealed: the astonishing greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the North West Shelf project
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