Cheapest and most expensive UK regions to run a heat pump (2026)

The cheapest part of Great Britain to run a heat pump in 2026 is the East Midlands, where a typical 3-bed semi costs about £861 a year. The most expensive is Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire at about £948 a year. The gap between the best and worst region is only about £87 a year, far less than you can save by choosing the right tariff.

Why regional prices differ

Electricity bills are not the same across the country because part of the unit price pays for the local distribution network, the wires and substations that carry power to your door. Each region has its own distribution charges, set by the cost of running and maintaining that network. Areas with higher network costs, or fewer customers to share them across, end up with a slightly higher unit rate.

These regional differences are baked into the Ofgem price cap, which sets a different electricity unit rate for each of the 14 distribution regions. The figures below use the cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026 on a standard Direct Debit tariff.

Running cost by region

The table ranks all 14 regions from cheapest to most expensive. The running cost is for a typical 3-bedroom semi, which uses about 3,429 kWh of electricity a year for heating at a SCOP of 3.5. The cost is the regional unit rate multiplied by 3,429, divided by 100.

Rank	Region	Electricity rate (p/kWh)	Running cost a year
1	East Midlands	25.10	£861
2	Northern (North East)	25.22	£865
3	Yorkshire	25.31	£868
4	West Midlands	25.33	£869
5	Southern Scotland	25.85	£886
6	North West	26.13	£896
7	South Wales	26.33	£903
8	London	26.35	£904
9	Eastern	26.38	£905
10	South West	26.39	£905
11	Southern	26.42	£906
12	Northern Scotland	26.42	£906
13	South East	26.67	£915
14	Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire	27.66	£948

Cheapest versus most expensive

The East Midlands leads at 25.10p per kWh, giving a running cost of about £861 a year for the example home. At the other end, Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire pays 27.66p per kWh, working out at about £948 a year.

That is a spread of roughly £87 a year between the cheapest and most expensive regions. It is a real difference, but a fairly small one over a full year of heating. The midlands and the north east tend to come out cheapest, while Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire and the South East sit at the top.

Your tariff matters more than your region

Region is something you cannot change, and the difference it makes is modest. The choice you can control, your tariff, makes a far bigger difference.

A standard cap rate sits around 25p to 28p per kWh depending on region. A dedicated heat-pump electricity tariff can be much lower, often around 13p to 15p per kWh. On those rates the same 3-bed semi would cost roughly £450 to £510 a year to heat, regardless of which region it is in.

In other words, switching to a heat-pump tariff can save several hundred pounds a year, while moving from the most expensive region to the cheapest would save under £90. If you want to cut the cost of running a heat pump, the tariff is where to focus, not your postcode.

How to use these figures

To estimate your own regional cost, take your home's annual electricity use for heating and multiply it by your regional rate from the table. A larger or less well-insulated home will use more than 3,429 kWh, so scale the cost up accordingly. A smaller flat or a very efficient home will use less.

Remember too that the price cap changes every three months, so the regional ranking can shift slightly over time even though the underlying reasons for the differences stay the same.

The bottom line

Where you live in Great Britain changes a heat pump's running cost by only about £87 a year, from roughly £861 in the East Midlands to about £948 in Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire for a typical 3-bed semi. That regional gap is dwarfed by the saving from a dedicated heat-pump tariff, which can bring the bill down to roughly £450 to £510 a year. All figures here are estimates based on the Ofgem price cap and will vary with your home, install and tariff.