Why is my standing charge so high, and would a low standing charge tariff help?

• ✓Ofgem says the standing charge is a fee you pay every day, even on a day you use no energy. Your supplier sets it, within the cap if you are on a standard variable tariff.
• ✓Ofgem says it covers moving energy to your home, balancing supply and demand, installing and maintaining meters, supplier earnings and some government social and environmental schemes.
• ✓From April 2026, Ofgem moved Warm Home Discount costs out of standing charges and into the unit rate. The government also ended or moved into general taxation the funding for two schemes, which Ofgem said saves customers an average of £150.
• ✓Network costs pulled the other way: Ofgem said they added £66 a year from April 2026 under the current price control, called RIIO-3.
• ✓For 1 October to 31 December 2026, the cap's average Direct Debit standing charge is 54.83p a day for electricity, with no VAT, and 29.68p a day for gas, including 5% VAT. That is £308.46 a year before you use anything (Taupia's arithmetic: both rates times 365 days).
• ✓The cap limits the unit rate and standing charge, not your total bill. The more energy you use, the more you pay.

Sources: Ofgem: energy price cap and standing charges explained (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: where your energy comes from (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: changes to the energy price cap, 1 April to 30 June 2026 (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: changes to the energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓You are on a fixed deal. Ofgem says the cap protects standard variable tariffs, and you are not protected by it once you agree a fixed tariff. Citizens Advice notes that a fixed tariff's standing charge can differ from the variable one.
• ✓You pay when the bill arrives. Ofgem's tables put the average standard credit standing charge at 63.49p a day for electricity and 37.49p for gas, against 54.83p and 29.68p by Direct Debit.
• ✓Prepayment is not the reason. Ofgem sets prepayment standing charges at the same level as Direct Debit, and its tables show the same 54.83p and 29.68p averages.
• ✓You have an Economy 7 or other multi-rate meter. These have their own cap tables, with an average Direct Debit electricity standing charge of 54.62p a day.
• ✓You live in a dearer region. Ofgem says standing charges depend on how many people live in your region, how much energy they use, what suppliers need to buy and the cost of the network. Citizens Advice says rural network areas such as North Wales and Mersey cost more.
• ✓Check your own standing charges against the cap for your region and the way you pay. Our regional pages set out all 14 regions from Ofgem's tables.

Sources: Ofgem: energy price cap and standing charges explained (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (read 15 October 2026); Citizens Advice: choosing your energy tariff (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Ofgem says you pay the standing charge every day, even on days you use no energy, so an empty flat, a second home or a student house over the summer keeps building it up.
• ✓At the cap's average Direct Debit rates for 1 October to 31 December 2026, the two standing charges come to 84.51p a day, or about £5.92 a week (Taupia's arithmetic: 54.83p plus 29.68p).
• ✓The pilot is not built for empty homes. Ofgem lets pilot suppliers set a minimum use, to stop second home owners benefiting at the expense of others.
• ✓Octopus set its minimum at 666 kWh of electricity or 2,836 kWh of gas a year, and E.ON Next asks for at least 700 kWh of electricity and 2,900 kWh of gas.
• ✓Leaving a shared house for the holidays? Our guide to bills in an empty student house covers what keeps charging and how to split it.

Sources: Ofgem: energy price cap and standing charges explained (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: British Gas derogation for lower standing charge pilot tariffs (18 August 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Octopus Energy: the Low Standing Charge tariff trial explained (7 July 2026) (read 15 October 2026); E.ON Next: trial of a lower standing charge tariff (9 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Ofgem has looked at this before. Its 2015 open letter describes households with a gas meter that use electricity for heating and cooking and still face a gas standing charge.
• ✓The six largest suppliers then agreed, for households in vulnerable situations, not to recover a standing charge from anyone who had never used gas at the address and had not agreed a contract, and to offer free meter removal to households that do not intend to use gas. Ofgem said some suppliers applied some of these practices to every household.
• ✓Ofgem added that it would not expect a waiver where you agreed a contract and simply have not used gas yet, for example because the gas only heats the home in winter.
• ✓Tell the supplier in writing that you have never used gas at the address, give it a meter reading, and ask whether it will stop or refund the standing charge.
• ✓In a rented flat, ask your landlord before asking for the gas meter to be removed. Citizens Advice warns that a landlord might try to keep some of your deposit if you change a meter they did not want changed.

Sources: Ofgem: open letter on households that do not use gas (28 May 2015) (read 15 October 2026); Citizens Advice: switching energy supplier or tariff if you're renting (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓In September 2025 Ofgem consulted on making every supplier offer at least one lower standing charge tariff. Many charities and consumer groups, most suppliers and just over half of the individuals who replied opposed the proposals.
• ✓Ofgem chose a one-year pilot instead and moved its start from April to June 2026. The tariffs go first to eligible customers of EDF, E.ON, Octopus and British Gas, with a limit on how many can sign up.
• ✓Ofgem expects dual fuel customers on a pilot tariff to pay about £150 a year less in standing charges than on the cap. The cut is split across both fuels, so single fuel customers may not get all of it.
• ✓It also expects suppliers to set higher unit rates, so a pilot tariff may cost more overall, depending on how much you use. Each supplier sets its own terms and eligibility.
• ✓The cap covers standard variable tariffs, and Ofgem says you are not protected by it on a fixed tariff. E.ON's pilot tariff is a 24-month fix, and British Gas's are its Fixed Lighter tariffs.
• ✓EDF's discount runs through its FreePhase time-of-use tariffs. Citizens Advice says a dynamic time-of-use tariff can carry its own supplier cap, which might be higher than Ofgem's.
• ✓The pilot covers England, Scotland and Wales. Ofgem says it will use the suppliers' data on pricing and take-up to decide its next steps on standing charges.

Sources: Ofgem: lower standing charge tariffs, next steps (updated 22 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: energy price cap and standing charges explained (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: E.ON Next derogation for lower standing charge pilot tariffs (26 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: British Gas derogation for lower standing charge pilot tariffs (18 August 2026) (read 15 October 2026); EDF: Low Standing Charge Trial (6 July 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Citizens Advice: choosing your energy tariff (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓EDF: available through its FreePhase tariffs and aimed at lower users. Eligible customers get £6.25 a month off each fuel's standing charge for a year, and EDF says there are no exit fees. New customers can opt in when they sign up to FreePhase, and existing FreePhase customers can ask to join.
• ✓E.ON Next: Next Lower Daily Fixed 24m v43, for electricity, Economy 7 electricity and gas. Ofgem let E.ON offer it only to existing customers signing up between 1 June 2026 and 31 May 2027. E.ON offers it to a random selection of eligible customers who pay by Direct Debit and use at least 700 kWh of electricity and 2,900 kWh of gas a year, and it charges a £100 exit fee per fuel.
• ✓Octopus Energy: Octopus offered its trial to 33,000 homes and says it is now full. It required at least 666 kWh of electricity or 2,836 kWh of gas a year, and Octopus says homes whose usage or meter type, such as prepayment, did not fit would not see it.
• ✓British Gas: Ofgem let British Gas offer its Fixed Lighter electricity and gas tariffs only to existing customers signing up between 11 August 2026 and 10 August 2027. Ask British Gas for the rates and whether you qualify.
• ✓E.ON and Octopus both say their pilot beats their own standard fix only for homes using under about 1,800 kWh of electricity and 7,500 kWh of gas a year.

Sources: EDF: Low Standing Charge Trial (6 July 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: E.ON Next derogation for lower standing charge pilot tariffs (26 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); E.ON Next: trial of a lower standing charge tariff (9 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Octopus Energy: the Low Standing Charge tariff trial explained (7 July 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: British Gas derogation for lower standing charge pilot tariffs (18 August 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Ofgem's price cap tables cover addresses in England, Scotland and Wales, and its standing charge pilot is for customers across Great Britain.
• ✓In Northern Ireland the Utility Regulator regulates the electricity and gas industries, so none of the cap figures on this page apply there.
• ✓VAT differs too. GOV.UK says the temporary zero rate on domestic electricity applies in Great Britain only, so electricity in Northern Ireland keeps its 5% VAT.

Sources: Ofgem: energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: lower standing charge tariffs, next steps (updated 22 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Utility Regulator: regulating electricity, gas and water in Northern Ireland (read 15 October 2026); GOV.UK: temporary zero rate of VAT on domestic electricity in Great Britain (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Upload a bill and Taupia reads your rates and usage, so you can see what your standing charges cost you and which usage band you are in.
• ✓It compares energy deals from 19 suppliers covering around 90% of the GB market, and switches only once your household approves.
• ✓Pilot tariffs are offered by each supplier to its own eligible customers, so ask your supplier about one, then compare its rates with the deals Taupia shows you.
• ✓In a shared home it splits each bill and tracks who has paid, without moving any money.
• ✓Taupia is free.

• ✓Inputs: Ofgem expects a cut of about £150 a year for dual fuel, split across both fuels. EDF splits it evenly, at £6.25 a month per fuel, so we use £75 a year for each fuel.
• ✓Usage: Ofgem's typical values from 1 July 2026 are 1,600, 2,500 and 3,800 kWh of electricity and 6,000, 9,500 and 14,000 kWh of gas a year for low, medium and high use.
• ✓Method: the break-even is £75 divided by the kWh you use. If a pilot tariff's unit rate is higher than your alternative by more than that, it costs you more over the year (Taupia's arithmetic).
• ✓Low users have the most to gain. At the cap's average Direct Debit rates, standing charges are about 26% of a low-use dual fuel bill of £1,208 a year, but about 13% of a high-use bill of £2,424 (Taupia's arithmetic).
• ✓In an electricity-only flat on low use, the electricity standing charge alone is about 32% of a £621 yearly bill (Taupia's arithmetic).
• ✓The suppliers' own figures agree. E.ON and Octopus put the point where their pilot stops paying at about 1,800 kWh of electricity and 7,500 kWh of gas, between Ofgem's low and medium bands.

Sources: Ofgem: lower standing charge tariffs, next steps (updated 22 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); EDF: Low Standing Charge Trial (6 July 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: review of typical domestic consumption values, decision (27 May 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (read 15 October 2026); E.ON Next: trial of a lower standing charge tariff (9 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Octopus Energy: the Low Standing Charge tariff trial explained (7 July 2026) (read 15 October 2026)