is it worth switching to a different company right now because of the price increase in July?

All energy companies are likely to increase prices from July 2026 as a result of the increase in the energy cap. It is worth looking around at both variable rates and fixed rates to see where the best deal is. Like you I pay my energy on receipt of bill but it is likely the best deals will only be by Direct Debit. This method of payment allows the electricity companies to build up your funds over the lower use summer months and hence often a slightly better deal is available.

As far as I can see, the only advantage for anyone who pays on receipt of bill is that Octopus offer something they call a “Variable Direct Debit”. This means that, each month, you pay for exactly the amount shown on your bill, but you do so by Direct Debit and so benefit from the lower rates that Direct Debit payments give you. I have not investigated this myself, but I suspect that we have those who know on this forum, but you may also be able to take advantage of tariffs that are only available to customers who pay via Direct Debit.

Morning ​@Katy65 and welcome to the OVO Forum Community.

I can see you’ve had some great answers here already and, as ​@DavidWSR suggests, the price cap increase is UK Industry-wide, rather than just OVO increasing their prices.

It’s a good time to assess your options, especially if you pay in receipt of a bill, as this will most likely mean you’re on the Simpler (variable) tariff, which has no exit fees. If you’re shopping around, I recommend getting quotes from energy suppliers directly, rather than using a comparison site. Make sure that you enter your annual usage figures as, without these, you’ll be quoted a Direct Debit amount which may be completely different to what you’ll end up paying reality. You can check your usage figures (future annual consumption) via the ‘Plan’ page of your app or online account. There’s a guide for this here:

Here’s a screenshot of my online account, with the annual usage highlighted in red:

If you enter that figure from your account when getting a quote, then the prices shown will be based upon your own usage. This’ll only work if you have smart meters that are sending regular reads, or if you’ve got traditional meters, and have been sending regular readings yourself.

Make sure to check our rates as well - hopefully we’ll be offering contracts at a good price that’ll keep you as a customer. You can view your renewal options online or via the app. We’ve got a guide for this too:

Let us know how you get on, and give us a shout if you have any other questions - we’re always happy to help 😊.

Old bone of contention here: the Future Annual Consumption figures aren’t shown anywhere in the app that I can see. Four years ago, this suggestion was made: 

Link to URL 

I have also not been able to fin the Future Annual Consumption figures on the app. It seems rather strange that something like this has been omitted. It is useful for being able to easily check the difference in costs for different tariffs and also to be able to supply these figures should you want an estimate of costs from another company.