UK electricity price index, real terms
UK electricity price index, real terms stood at 94.4 in Jun 2026, according to GOV.UK official statistics. It is one of the indicators in the Domestic energy prices table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Jan 1990 to Jun 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Domestic energy prices table
| Indicator | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | 09-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price index, real terms (2025=100) | |||||||||||
| Electricity | 94.4 | 93.9 | 93.5 | 102.5 | 102.2 | 102.2 | 99.7 | 99.6 | 99.5 | 97.7 | |
| Gas | 89.8 | 89.3 | 88.9 | 93.3 | 92.9 | 93.3 | 97.6 | 97.7 | 97.7 | 97.3 |
Understanding UK electricity price index, real terms
This series tracks the inflation-adjusted price index for electricity supplied to residential homes across the United Kingdom, expressed in real terms relative to a base year. By deflating the nominal cash tariff data using a broader price index, it isolates the purchasing power cost of electrical energy net of general economic inflation. Unlike cash-term counterparts, this metric reveals whether household electricity is becoming genuinely more expensive relative to other consumer goods and services. Sibling rows in real terms provide comparable deflated measures for gas, liquid fuels, and transport energy.
Interpreting the monthly figures requires looking past seasonal tariff cap adjustments that temporarily elevate real electricity costs during winter months. Routine revisions to early nominal price estimates flow directly into subsequent updates of this deflated series. Analysts should rely on twelve-month comparisons to evaluate sustained structural changes in real electricity affordability rather than month-on-month fluctuations. Comparing this series with nominal cash indices clarifies how much of the observed price rise stems from wider currency depreciation versus real energy cost pressures.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the real-terms electricity index measure?
- It measures the price of residential electricity adjusted for broader economy-wide inflation to show real purchasing power costs.
- How does this differ from the cash terms electricity index?
- The cash index shows nominal prices paid, while this real-terms version strips out general consumer price inflation.
- Why use twelve-month comparisons for this series?
- Twelve-month comparisons eliminate seasonal tariff variations that routinely distort shorter period-on-period readings.