No Standing Charge Electricity Tariffs: OFGEM says they’re coming, but will they save us money ?
In his 2026 budget, the chancellor somewhat unexpectedly announced that Gas standing charges 'would be removed', with the cost element transferred to the unit rate. He also intimated that this would 'eventually' happen to electricity standing charges. The only timing quoted for the Gas measure was 'sometime next year'. Although it does look as though OFGEM and the suppliers will now be required to act, I predict the process will be long and drawn out, with the usual objections from high users, and a concerted campaign to slow things down, or even get the decision reversed, by the energy suppliers' cartel. A Warning to low Electricity and Gas users: If you are anything other than a high user of both fuels, don't be tempted by offers from your supplier to fix your tariffs now.... Suppliers are now piling on the pressure to fix with a plethora of different and highly confusing offers, few if any of which include a reduction in the standing charge . These ...