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Energy price cap calculator: How much will your bills fall?

The energy price cap has been cut and MailOnline and This is Money’s new online calculator today reveals how much your energy bills should drop by on July 1. 

Ofgem today confirmed its price cap for the average household’s annual energy bill will fall to £2,074 – down from its current £3,280.

Crucially, this pulls the energy price cap below the £2,500 energy price guarantee and will mean the average UK household saves around £426 on gas and electricity.

The cap is set for the average household and individual costs depend on households’ energy usage – our calculator lets you work out what it means for your bills.

Use MailOnline and This is Money’s energy bills widget – which we have built with finance management system Nous – to work out how you will be impacted by the price cap drop.

Enter some brief details on how your home is powered, whether you have a prepayment meter and your current monthly payments to find out how much cheaper your bill will become.

Energy prices have spiked to record levels over the past 18 months, as disruption from the aftermath of Covid lockdowns combined with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy costs sky high.

The war in Ukraine saw wholesale gas prices soar globally, with Ofgem’s price cap rising from £1,162 a year in August 2021 to a peak of £4,279 in January this year.

Since October 2022, customers have been partly shielded by the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee, which limits annual energy costs to £2,500.

All households in England, Scotland and Wales also received £400 from the Government to offset soaring prices over the winter.

This will change in July as Ofgem drops the price cap to a level below the energy price guarantee. There is a hope that falling energy prices will also trigger a return to the possibility of switching energy suppliers and a competitive fixed rate market.

Despite the cap’s fall, campaigners have warned households will not feel full relief for another seven years, with energy bills set to remain high until at least 2030.

‘We do not currently expect bills to return to pre-2020 levels before the end of the decade at the earliest,’ energy consulting firm Cornwall Insight said.

Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) added that, for many, bills will still be ‘unaffordable’ due to the Government’s move to cut winter support packages. 

>  Energy price cap guide: When will your bills fall and by how much? 

Ofgem has today lowered the Energy Price Cap to £2,074 - meaning UK households will be saving up to £450 on their gas and electricity bills

Ofgem has today lowered the Energy Price Cap to £2,074 – meaning UK households will be saving up to £450 on their gas and electricity bills  

It is vital to remember that Ofgem’s price cap does not put a maximum sum on the amount a household will pay for their total energy bill

The price cap instead limits sums of money providers can charge their customers per unit of gas or electricity, meaning those who use more energy pay more.

> How to save money on energy and how your bills work 

Greg Marsh, chief executive and co-founder of household money-saving tool Nous.co, said: ‘Most households will see their energy bills come down from July, but unfortunately this isn’t the end of the painful squeeze on incomes.

‘Bills will be close to double the levels seen before the energy crisis, and other prices such as groceries continue to soar.

‘Energy minister Grant Shapps and regulator Ofgem need to do much more to encourage energy suppliers to pass on falling wholesale prices to consumers. 

‘We mustn’t forget that millions of people are seriously struggling to pay their bills.’

Ofgem is expected to drop to its energy price cap from £2,500 to £2,074 this July, experts have said

Ofgem is expected to drop to its energy price cap from £2,500 to £2,074 this July, experts have said

The Government’s £400 winter discount, which was paid in six instalments to every household, ended in March.

Now, only those in receipt of means-tested benefits, pensioners and those with disabilities are set to receive further help with their energy bills, amounting to £900, £300 and £150 respectively.

The standing charge – the roughly £300 paid each year by households just to access gas and electricity – is also controversial.

The NEA warned that while a cut to the price cap ‘might seem like good news’, bills in July would be comparable to last winter due to the end of the Government’s support.

NEA chief executive Adam Scorer said: ‘Coming out of winter, most people will welcome any respite from record high prices, but it still leaves prices more than 80 per cent higher than the start of the energy crisis and two million more households trapped in fuel poverty.

‘More than two and a half million low income and vulnerable households are no longer receiving any Government support for unaffordable bills. For them, the energy crisis is far from over.’

THE ENERGY PRICE CAP: WHAT IS IT AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR MY BILLS?

Despite falling wholesale energy prices making their way through to bills, households are still facing eye-watering costs that remain well above pre-pandemic levels.

What is Ofgem’s price cap, how does the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee affect it, and what does it all mean for household bills?

– What is Ofgem’s price cap?

The energy price cap was introduced by the Government in January 2019 and sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use.

It aims to ensure that prices for customers on default energy tariffs are a fair reflection of the cost paid by suppliers for wholesale energy, and that the profit firms make is capped.

Ofgem sets its cap every three months as the average amount paid by the typical household. This is currently £3,280, but the regulator has announced that it will drop to £2,074 with effect from July 1.

It is important to note though that Ofgem’s cap does not set a maximum amount for the actual bill households receive – those who use more than the average amount will pay more, and those who use less will pay less.

Energy is regulated separately in Northern Ireland, where bills will be held at £1,950 per year for an average household.

However, since October last year this has all been overridden by the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee.

– What is the Energy Price Guarantee?

Then-prime minister Liz Truss announced a temporary Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) to protect households when wholesale prices soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to fears bills could hit £6,000 a year.

Under the EPG, which took effect in October, the Government sets a maximum average household price for gas and electricity and pays the difference to customers’ suppliers. This has been set for a typical household at £2,500, even though Ofgem continued to set its own cap at at higher level.

As Ofgem’s price cap will be lower than the EPG from July, the price cap will once again determine household bills, which will drop by an average of £426 a year.

Again though, this is not a maximum cap on what households will pay. Those who use more energy will pay more.

– Why is Ofgem’s price cap falling?

The fall reflects recent drops in wholesale energy prices – the amount energy firms pay for gas and electricity before supplying it to households.

However, despite the drop from July from the sky-high prices of the past two years, the figure remains more than £1,000 a year higher than pre-pandemic levels.

– Will energy bills continue to fall?

Consultancy firm Cornwall Insight predicts that July’s fall will be followed by a further drop in October, when it expects the typical annual bill to be £1,976.

Unfortunately, it currently believes the typical bill will rise again in January to £2,045.

It does not expect energy prices to return to pre-Covid levels before the end of the decade at the earliest.

And it warned that prices remain subject to wholesale market volatility, with the UK’s reliance on energy imports meaning that geopolitical incidents could continue to have a significant impact.

– Will this mean the return of switching?

Cornwall Insight said it hoped to see the reappearance of more competitive fixed-rate energy tariffs as prices begin to stabilise, meaning it could soon be worthwhile for consumers to consider switching again.

Unlike variable tariffs, they are unaffected by the cap.

Consumer groups and regulators say that could be good news for consumers, but warn that such deals will not suit all circumstances, and anyone who locked into a fixed deal would miss out on falling variable prices.

Which? Energy editor Emily Seymour said: ‘If prices start to stabilise, we may see some providers offering competitive fixed price energy deals for the first time in well over a year.

‘As a rule of thumb, we wouldn’t advise fixing any deals which are significantly higher than the price cap or longer than 12 months as this runs the risk of your deal continuing into a completely different future market.

‘It’s also important to take into consideration any exit fees, as we’ve seen some companies charge large amounts if you wish to leave your contract early, should a better deal come along.’

– What if I’m not on a standard default tariff?

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in the Spring Budget that energy costs for prepayment households would be brought in line with those who pay by direct debit.

This means the cap is same for both forms of payment.

However, those who pay via cash, cheque or bank transfer, usually every three months, will pay significantly more.

– Is there any extra support available if I’m struggling to pay?

The £400 discount which all households in England, Wales and Scotland received to offset soaring winter bills has ended.

Only those in receipt of means-tested benefits, pensioners and those with disabilities are currently set to receive further help with their energy bills, amounting to £900, £300 and £150 respectively.

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Daisy Lowe’s designer mother Pearl is putting her beachside bolthole up for sale for £1.8million after she transformed it during lockdown

  • Pearl Lowe is selling 1940s Shell House in order to relocate to London

Daisy Lowe‘s mother Pearl has put her beachside home on sale for £1.8million. 

Former singer Pearl Lowe, 53, purchased the Shell House on the East Sussex coast during lockdown but have now decided to sell it up in order to move to London.

The 1940s ‘beach shack’ was built by a soldier who was married to shell artist Theresa Arnott, who crafted the home with seaside-themed installations using shells from nearby Winchelsea beach.

Mrs Lowe and her husband Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, 49 transformed the property, which sleeps 12, after they purchased it in February 2021.

Prior to moving to East Sussex, the couple had lived for seven years in a Georgian manor in Frome, Somerset, the Times reported.

Daisy Lowe's designer mother Pearl has put a east Sussex beach house on the market for £1.8million after buying it in lockdown

Daisy Lowe’s designer mother Pearl has put a east Sussex beach house on the market for £1.8million after buying it in lockdown

Pearl (pictured left with daughter Daisy),53, purchased Shell House in February 2021 with her husband Daniel Goffey

Pearl (pictured left with daughter Daisy),53, purchased Shell House in February 2021 with her husband Daniel Goffey

The decor is in contrast to the designer's usual maximalist style

The decor is in contrast to the designer’s usual maximalist style

The vintage-looking Burlington bathroom complete with Bert & May patterned tiles

The vintage-looking Burlington bathroom complete with Bert & May patterned tiles

Mrs Lowe also added a deVOL Shaker-style kitchen

Mrs Lowe also added a deVOL Shaker-style kitchen 

READ MORE: Pearl Lowe admits she dropped her Primrose Hill pals in a bid to kick drug habit and says her ‘turning point’ came when her toddler almost popped a pill as she celebrates 15 years of sobriety

The Shell House has been the setting for many parties, which Mrs Lowe has furnished with luxury fittings including a deVOL Shaker-style kitchen for a ‘vintage’ look, Bert & May-patterned tiles and Burlington bathrooms.

She also added a wildflower path leading up to the cosy self-contained two-bedroom cabin, which comes iwith a log-burner and roll top bath.

But the decor contrasts with her signature pattern clashes and ‘maximalist’ tones, with the designer admitting that a beach house needed to be more ‘basic’.

In March 2022, a pool was installed on the site of a pond along with a steam room and wood-fired tub.

Pearl was visited at the pad by her large family at Christmas – when 18 snuggled into the property.

In March 2022, a pool was installed on the site of a pond along with a steam room and wood-fired tub

In March 2022, a pool was installed on the site of a pond along with a steam room and wood-fired tub

The designer described the home, just a stone's throw from the seaside, as the 'most enchanting place'

The designer described the home, just a stone’s throw from the seaside, as the ‘most enchanting place’ 

She has three children with Mr Goffey, Alfie, 27, Frankie, 24 and Betty, 18, as well as her eldest daughter Daisy, with singer Gavin Rossdale.

But the couple are now looking to move to the capital, possibly Hackney, to be closer to their growing family, after Daisy and her partner Jordan Saul had their first child, Ivy, in April.

Mrs Lowe also also rents out the property from £6.650 a week on Unique Homestays, where the home has proved divisive with guests, with some moaning about the rugs with rips in them.

Mrs Lowe described the property as a ‘most enchanting place’ and close to many ‘amazing’ vintage shops including Hawk and Dove, Merchant 57, Xanadu and AG Hendy.

She added that several ‘a-listers’ had visited the pad. 

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Chemistry Problems & Quantum Computing

The researchers compared the results of a conventional and quantum computer to minimise error calculations, which could eventually be scaled up to solve more complicated problems.

Scientists in Sweden have successfully managed to use a quantum computer to solve simple chemistry problems, as a proof-of-concept for more advanced calculations.

Currently, conventional supercomputers are used in quantum chemistry to help scientists learn more about chemical reactions, which materials can be developed and the characteristics they have.

But these conventional computers have a limit to the calculations they can handle. It is believed quantum computers will eventually be able to handle extremely complicated simulations, which could lead to new pharmaceutical discoveries or the creation of new materials.

However, these quantum machines are so sensitive that their calculations suffer from errors. Imperfect control signals, interference from the environment and unwanted interactions between quantum bits – qubits – can lead to “noise” that disrupts calculations.

The risk of errors grows as more qubits are added to a quantum computer, which complicates attempts to create more powerful machines or solve more complicated problems.

Comparing conventional and quantum results

In the new study by Chalmers University, scientists aimed to resolve this noise issue through a method called reference-state error mitigation.

This method involves finding a “reference state” by describing and solving the same problem on both a conventional and a quantum computer.

The reference state is a simpler description of a molecule that can be solved by a normal computer. By comparing the results from both computers, the scientists were able to estimate the scale of error the quantum computer had in its calculation.

The difference between the two computers’ results for the simpler reference problem was then applied to correct the quantum computer’s solution for the original, more complex problem.

This method allowed the scientists to calculate the intrinsic energy of small example molecules such as hydrogen on the university’s quantum computer.

Associate professor Martin Rahm – who led the study – believes the result is an important step forward that can be used to improve future quantum-chemical calculations.

“We see good possibilities for further development of the method to allow calculations of larger and more complex molecules, when the next generation of quantum computers are ready,” Rahm said.

Research is happening around the world to fix the problems limiting the development of more advanced quantum computers.

Earlier this month, Tyndall’s Prof Peter O’Brien told about his group’s work in addressing a key challenge in quantum technology and how quantum communications will make eavesdropping ‘impossible’.


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12 Outstanding Tech Resources To Improve Your Skills

If you want to improve your tech skills and don’t know where to start, this list introduces you to some of the resources out there.

If you’re familiar with our advice pieces, you’ll know that we regularly mention various resources you can use to upskill in tech.

We’ve steered readers towards courses from the likes of Udemy, Udacity and Coursera for learning tech concepts from machine learning to data literacy skills. And we’ve pointed out Python meet-ups run by Python Ireland among others.

But what if you’re not sure what these platforms are? Or you aren’t sure which one is the best one for you and your learning style? Maybe you like the idea of Python Ireland and you want to find other similar groups.

Here is an introduction to some of the best resources out to hone your tech skills.

Coursera

Founded by two Stanford University computer scientists, Coursera is a global online learning platform for techies of all stripes.

It has partnerships with major companies like IBM and Google, as well as with universities such as Stanford and Imperial College London.

If you need a bit of guidance, scroll to the bottom section of the Coursera homepage and you’ll find articles that provide advice on how you can achieve a career in areas such as data analytics using the site.

In terms of courses, it provides everything from short certificates to longer postgraduate degree programmes.

Codeacademy

This one is for anyone who wants to brush up on their coding skills; the clue is in the name. Codeacademy offers free short courses in a variety of languages such as Python, C++, C, C+, Bash, Go, HTML, R, SQL and Ruby.

Codeacademy is particularly useful for people who like interactive learning, as it has links to cheatsheets, projects, video and coding challenges under Resources at the bottom of its homepage.

It has a pretty active online community, too.

edX

This Coursera rival – its founders are MIT and Harvard scientists – carries thousands of courses. Like Coursera, many are university-level, with edX making use of its partnerships with the likes of Boston University, University of Cambridge and Google.

Scroll to the bottom of the homepage and you’ll find boot camp courses in topics such as fintech and cybersecurity, as well as longer courses.

Data Camp

Like Codeacademy, Data Camp is quite hands-on and has a lot of short, free courses. It’s best for people who are interested in data science and related technologies.

You can select a specific skill you want to brush up on (like data literacy, NLP, machine learning) or you can explore different career paths such as data scientist, data analyst and statistician.

If you just want to get to grips with a particular tech tool (ChatGPT, Tableau) you can do that too.

Irish meet-up groups

Going along to events run by Irish tech community groups can be a fun way to keep on top of new tech trends and meet like-minded people.

You can find lots of different events on Meetup no matter what you’re interested in. Dublin Linux Community meets monthly, as does Python Ireland and Kubernetes Dublin.

If you want something more casual, there is a coffee chat for indie hackers in Dublin in early June. And it isn’t just the in capital: there are online events and conferences, as well as things going on in Cork, Galway and Belfast.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is another one to consider if you want to do an online tech course, even though it’s not as well known as some of the other names on this list.

Its short video lessons are good for beginners and it provides lessons and learning paths for children, too.

It is a non-profit organisation and it aims to educate people all over the world for free.

LinkedIn Learning

The educational offshoot of LinkedIn has business and tech courses galore for anyone who wants to perfect certain skills.

If you already have LinkedIn, LinkedIn Learning is a good bet as you can add your certificates of completion to your profile.

It’s not free, however, but it does offer a one-month free trial.

Pluralsight

Software educational platform Pluralsight provides learning plans for teams as well as individuals. It’s quite skills focused, perhaps more so than some of the other resources that include non-tech courses on their sites.

You can pick up new skills like cloud tech, programming and test your progress using specially designed exercises.

Skillshare

Best for creative techies, Skillshare carries courses in things such as graphic design and photography – but many of these areas are arguably tech focused.

If you’re interested in things like UX and UI design or how tech tools can be used for creative purposes, you may find a short course that takes your fancy.

It’s got a lot of creatives on its books that are willing to, yes, share their skills.

Digital Skillnet

An Irish resource for all things technological, Digital Skillnet is a great site to keep in mind for future educational and upskilling opportunities.

If you prefer the familiarity of an Irish-run organisation, it has plenty of information about the types of careers you can break into.

Whether you’re an employer looking to find resources and courses for employees, or an individual looking to reskill, upskill or find a tech job, Digital Skillnet should definitely be one of your first ports of call.

Udacity

Udacity is pretty good for anyone who wants to try out a tech course as it has a lot of short and beginner courses as well as longer ones.

It also has an AI chatbot running in beta which offers to assist you when you visit its website.

You can pick from courses on topics such as programming and development, AI, data science, business intelligence and cloud computing.

Scroll to the bottom of the homepage for in-depth career-related resources.

Udemy

One for bargain hunters, Udemy constantly runs sales on its courses. It has hundreds of thousands of courses, too, so you won’t have difficulty finding something.

It’s good for beginners as many of the courses are short and delivered through video. What’s cool about Udemy is there is so much on the site that you can quite easily find courses on a certain topic from beginner right through to specialist level.


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