How much more electricity, gas, water and more will cost in 2025 as bills set to rise £322

The average UK household budget as of September 2024 was about £2,700 a month when taking into account all living costs including housing, transport, food and drink, leisure, clothing and other general expenses.

Out of those, utilities cost an average £1,869 a year, broadband and TV £920, and council tax £1,223.

Here we look at how much household bills are set to rise in 2025.

Energy bills

Kicking things off, the energy price cap rose to £1,738 on January 1 2025. Ofgem's 1.2% increase raised the average gas and electricity bill by £21.

Unfortunately this isn't the only change to the cost of electricity and gas set for 2025, with the next price cap to be announced on February 25 2025 and coming into force from April 1.

Although the next cap is not yet known, analysts at Cornwall Insights, who have been studying the price cap for the last few years, believe it will rise a further 3% - or £52 - to £1,790 in April.

And prices could rise again come October. Although it is harder to predict, the natural gas futures index shows a slight rise in prices again from autumn 2025. You can see our analysis of the futures figures here.

Council tax

Councils in England are able to raise their council tax rates by up to 5% a year under current rules.

Councils generally made full or near full use of this limit in 2024/25, with the annual bill for a Band D property hitting an average £2,171. The average across all bands in 2024/25 is £1,668, according to Government figures.

A 5% rise would see a typical Band D property pay £2,280 - a rise of £109 a year.

Water bills

New water bill rates come into effect on April 1 for England and Wales. And they're likely to increase by an average of £86 - excluding inflation - after Ofwat agreed households could help fund major infrastructure works needed to stop sewage spillages into waterways.

This is 20% of the average water bill, while there will be smaller percentage increases over the following four years, Ofwat announced in December 2024.

Scotland's rate rises have not yet been announced.

You could save up to £492 on your water bills with a social tariff - see our article here to find out if you're eligible.

TV licence cost

The cost of a TV licence is to rise by £5 in April 2025 to £174.50.

It is the second time the licence has risen since 2021 after the previous Conservative government froze it until 2024.

The fee is due to rise in line with inflation each year until 2027.

NimbleFins previously explained how people on Pension Credit can receive a free TV licence as well as other benefits.

Nearly one million people are thought to be missing out on Pension Credit despite being eligible, so it's worth taking a read of our article. (It could also mean you keep the Winter Fuel Allowance).

Mobile phone and broadband

Mobile phone and broadband bills will rise either in line with inflation or by a set monthly fee, depending on when your contract was taken out.

Ofcom introduced new rules banning mid-contact rises linked to inflation, but this only affects new contracts taken out from January 17 2025.

For customers who took out contracts after this date, they must be told upfront, in specific pounds and pence how much their bill will rise. These rises are generally up to about £3 a month.

Previously operators were allowed to raise prices in line with inflation plus 3.9%. This means that during the height of the cost of living crisis when inflation boomed, some customers faced hikes of up to 17.4%.

This rule will still remain for older contracts with the idea that the practice will naturally die out as contracts are renewed.

Already BT, which owns EE and Plusnet, and Vodafone have changed their pricing to follow the new rules.

BT and EE customers who took out a new contract after April 10 2024 will pay an extra £1.50 a month for mobile and £3 for broadband contracts, from March 2025.

Vodafone is raising its mobile phone bills by £1.80 a month and broadband by £3 a month.

So, say your phone bill was to rise £1.50 a month and broadband £3 a month, that would be an annual rise of £54.

Read our article here explaining how you can save on your mobile phone and broadband bills.

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