New driveway rule in force from today as motorists are warned

Major changes to UK driveways are set to kick off from today, with a stark warning for over a million electric vehicle (EV) owners. Those who charge their EVs at home need to be aware of the new Ofgem price cap that are now in effect.

David Watson, CEO of Ohme, a company specialising in smart home chargers for EVs, said: "Charging at home will always be the most affordable place for EV drivers to charge their cars and this lower electricity price is great news to help them reduce their running costs.

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"However, any EV driver charging at home should look at switching to one of the wide range of energy tariffs that drop those costs still further to help save them even more money."

Ofgem, the industry regulator, has announced that starting from 1 July 2025, the price cap for the average dual-fuel household paying bills by Direct Debit will be £1,720. This rate represents a £129 (or 7%) reduction from the current annual rate of £1,849.

Yet, it's important to note that this new cap is still 34% above the rates before the energy crisis. Therefore, while the reduction is welcome, it must be viewed within the broader context, reports Yorkshire Live.

Additionally, since July 2024, when the cap was lowered to £1,568 – the lowest point since the onset of the crisis – there hasn't been a further decrease.

Ben Gallizzi, senior content editor at Uswitch, said: "The price cap will drop by 7% in July, but customers can start saving now by fixing their deal.

"There are deals available to switch to that can save around £250 a year against the price cap. If you have the option of getting off a standard variable tariff and ditching the price cap, it's worth doing that now."

In October 2022, when Ofgem's price cap level was expected to rocket to £4,279 by January 2023, the government intervened with the Energy Price Guarantee as a buffer for households grappling with escalating energy costs.

Designed as a "safety" price cap, it was initially pegged at £2,500 annually (subsidised by the government) for an average use dual fuel customer.

Come May 2023, Ofgem and government officials announced that the Energy Price Guarantee would be hiked to £3,000. This measure has since been scrapped entirely.