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The cheapest fixed energy deal this week: An 18-month tariff from Fuse Energy, priced at £1,615 annually for the average household that pays by direct debit. This is £108 below October's price cap and £384 below the predicted one for January. Exit fees are £50 per fuel. 

The energy price cap increased by 4 per cent on October 1 and the average household that pays by direct debit can now expect to pay around £1,723 annually.

Households shouldn't expect costs to go down at the start of 2027 either, with expert forecaster Cornwall Insight now expecting bills to rise by 16 per cent compared to October, reaching £1,999 a year for a typical dual-fuel household.

If you haven't fixed your tariff in a year or more, it's likely you're on one that follows the price cap – and you could save money by choosing a new deal.

The cheapest fixed energy tariffs can save you money against October's rise. Although there aren't any that are cheaper than the current price cap on an annual basis, signing up for a fix will protect against any further rises and give you certainty over your bills.

Keep in mind that Ofgem has updated its average energy consumption figures to reflect the fact that people are using less energy. This means that average annual costs listed under the price cap and fixed deals will look lower than they did before. The July cap for a typical household that pays by direct debit was £1,663 under the new figures, but was previously announced at £1,862 under the old ones.

It's a good reminder that the price cap or fixed deal doesn't limit your total bill. Instead it sets the maximum that energy suppliers can charge for each unit of energy. If your energy usage isn't the same as the average household, your annual bill will look different to the cap.

It's worth highlighting that the Government has cut VAT to 0 per cent for six months, equivalent to a saving of £45 a year, and certain levies were also removed in April, bringing energy bills down.

Comparing energy providers can help you save money and avoid paying more than you need to.

The table below shows you the cheapest energy deals this week, according to comparison website Uswitch. It's a good idea to compare the best deals with what you're currently paying, because rates vary by region. 

The cap doesn't limit your total bill – energy companies charge for energy by the kilowatt hour (kWh). 

It's therefore important to check the unit rate – how much you're charged per kWh – on a new fixed tariff against that of your existing deal.

Sabrina Hoque, energy expert at Uswitch, said: 'There are currently nine fixed deals that undercut the October price cap, and 39 that come in below the predicted January rates. The cheapest would save a typical household £108 against today's cap and £384 against January's.

'Fixing now means today's rates are locked in through the winter and beyond, regardless of what happens to the cap. Run a quick comparison to see which deals suit your home and usage, and give yourself some certainty before the cold sets in.'

Keep in mind that the annual price quoted is only what the average household can expect to pay over the year. Your actual bill will depend on how much energy you use, so check the unit cost of energy when comparing tariffs. 

Under October's price cap the unit costs are 26.32p/kWh for electricity and 7.97p/kWh for gas, with standing charges of 54.83p and 29.68p per day respectively.

Switching to a fixed tariff from a variable one could put more money in your pocket. It's also worth thinking about fixing your energy if you like to know how much your bills will be each month.

Energy unit costs and standing charges stay the same over the length of a fixed contract, helping you budget. 

Energy suppliers themselves also predict movements in the price cap and EDF Energy is predicting the cap will increase to £2,076 in January.

But the market is easily influenced by international events and political tensions that can't be forecast, so predictions should be taken with a pinch of salt. EDF Energy says its confidence in its January prediction is low.

Fixing could at least help to provide some stability for your bills over the longer term.

Read more: The energy price cap should be scrapped, say industry experts 

There has been a good range of fixed energy deals over the last year, with many offering savings against the price cap. And while energy suppliers pulled deals following the escalating conflict in the Middle East, there are now more than 20 available.

While there are fixed-rate energy deals that households can switch to that undercut the Ofgem price cap and save money, it took a few years after the energy crisis for providers to start offering them again.

Until the energy crunch arrived in late 2021, the advice was simple: households should switch energy providers regularly to get the best deal possible.

The cheapest deals were fixed-rate tariffs, with variable rates normally reserved for households that had reached the end of their cheap tariff and not switched.

But affordable fixed-rate deals began to vanish in autumn 2021 because wholesale energy prices started rising.

Many comparison sites then paused their energy switching services, energy providers stopped taking on new customers, and the common advice was that most people would be better off on deals subject to the Ofgem price cap.

This left 22 million households lumbered with variable-rate deals.

Your energy provider can't raise your unit cost of energy or standing charge while you're on a fixed tariff.

Your bill could still move up and down depending on how much energy you use. If you use more, you'll pay more. 

It's the standing charge and cost per unit of energy that's fixed, not your overall bill.

The main benefit that fixing provides at the moment is stability and protection against unpredictable future pricing.

You need to consider how prices will move over the entire length of the fix rather than just the next few months. And be sure to consider exit fees, because you'll need to pay these if cheaper fixes do return to the market and you want to switch to a better deal.

With the energy price cap expected to increase by 16 per cent in January 2027, it's strongly worth considering fixing if you can find a year-long fix priced below October's cap and the expected rise in January. This would lock in savings for the coldest months.

Even a 12-month deal priced slightly above October's cap could still save you money over the long term.

You can compare the best energy deals* for you based on your home and gas and electricity costs through This is Money's recommended partner Uswitch. 

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