Energy prices are forecast to rise 16% in January. Here's what you can control.

The Energy went up again on 1 October, and the next rise is already forming. Ofgem's price cap rose 4%, taking a typical household bill to £1,723 a year. On 30 September, Cornwall Insight forecast a further 16% rise from January, to around £1,999. That would be the largest increase since January 2023.

Cornwall Insight says the wholesale price rises seen in September are already locked into the January calculation, making an increase all but certain. Ofgem will confirm the final figure in late November.

So what does this mean for operators, and what can you actually do about it?

"We're not on the price cap." You're still affected.

The price cap covers household tariffs. Most operators buy energy on commercial contracts, which aren't capped at all. But commercial prices are set by the same wholesale market that's pushing the cap up. Different contract, same direction of travel.

If some of your units sit on domestic supplies, as many leased-back apartments do, the cap applies to those directly.

If your fixed rate ends this winter

A fixed contract protects you until the day it ends. If yours rolls over between now and spring, you'll be renewing into one of the most expensive points of the year.

• Find your end date now. Not in January.
• Talk to your broker or supplier early. Commercial contracts can often be agreed ahead of the end date.
• Know your consumption before you negotiate. Accurate, unit-level usage data gives you a stronger position than a year of estimated bills.

The three parts of every energy bill

Whatever contract you're on, your bill is built from three things:

Unit rates and standing charges are worth negotiating. But you only get that chance once a contract. Consumption is the part you can change today, and it multiplies everything else.

The maths that matters

If unit prices rise 16% and you use 36% less energy, the usage part of your bill ends up around 26% lower than it was before the rise. You've more than absorbed the increase.

The arithmetic is simple: 1.16 × 0.64 = 0.74. Price up, usage down further, bill down.

Why operators on all-inclusive rates feel it most

When guests don't pay for the energy they use, they have no reason to think about it. Heating gets turned up and left on. Windows get opened with the radiators running. Lights stay on in empty rooms. This isn't new. It's the same challenge all-inclusive operators have always had, but every price rise makes it more expensive.

You can't ask guests to manage your energy bill. You can make sure the building does.

Let automation manage the usage for you

resicentral® connects to the heating, cooling and lighting already in your buildings and adjusts them automatically, unit by unit:

• Occupancy-led control eases heating back when a unit is empty and brings it back before guests return.
• Booking-led control uses your PMS data, so voids aren't heated like occupied units.
• Sensible limits keep comfort high and stop heating running flat out.
• Live visibility shows which buildings and units are running hot, so you can act before the bill arrives.

Our clients see an average energy saving of 36%, depending on building size and build. When consumption goes down, so does your bill, whatever happens to the price.

January's rise is coming either way. Book a 15-minute energy review and see what your buildings could save before it lands.

Figures correct at 1 October 2026. The January price cap is a forecast until Ofgem confirms it in late November.