We’ve put together a quick, practical guide to help you assess your energy use, compare options, and take advantage of the new tariff choice set to arrive with the winter 2025/26 price-cap period.
What’s changing and when?
In February 2025, the energy regulator Ofgem confirmed plans that they will require every supplier to offer at least one “low- or zero-standing-charge” tariff from 1 October 2025, the start of the winter price-cap quarter. The standing charge will not disappear; its costs will simply be rolled into the unit rate, but for the first time, you will be able to opt in to paying only for the kilowatt-hours you use.
At present, only a handful of suppliers provide such deals (see Current availability below), so the autumn launch should dramatically widen choice. If you’re a low or intermittent energy user, this new structure could finally allow you to stop paying a daily fee for energy you barely consume.
The basics – what exactly is a zero standing charge tariff?
| Conventional tariff | Zero-standing-charge tariff |
|---|---|
| Pay daily standing charge (typically ~51 p/day for electricity & 30 p/day for gas under the July–Sept 2025 price cap) plus a unit rate. | Pay no daily charge. All fixed costs are bundled into a higher unit rate. |
| Good for steady or high consumption. | Better for low or highly variable consumption. |
For context, the average dual-fuel household will pay £1,720 a year under the July–September 2025 price cap, £296 of which is pure standing charge. You can find out everything you need to know about no-standing-charge tariffs in our guide here.
Current availability (June 2025 snapshot)
| Supplier | Tariff name / key detail | Who can get it? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilita | Variable no standing charge | Credit and PAYG customers | Rising-block structure – First, kWh is very expensive; thereafter, it is nearer the market average. |
| E (Gas & Electricity) | Zero standing charge PAYG | PAYG only | Similar rising-block design. |
| EDF | Zero standing charge heat-pump tariff | Only with a new Ideal Heating ASHP installed via EDF | Includes two six-hour off-peak windows each day; launched April 2025. |
You can find out more about current no-standing-charge tariffs in our guide here. From October 2025, every major supplier – British Gas, Octopus, OVO, EDF, etc – will have to publish at least one tariff of this kind.
Who might gain the most?
🔹 Very low-usage households or people living alone
If you consistently use under about 3,000 kWh of electricity a year – roughly half the typical domestic consumption value – avoiding today’s £296 standing-charge bill could outweigh the higher unit rate, saving up to £250 a year.
🔹 Second homes and holiday lets
A property that sits empty for months currently racks up standing charges regardless. From October, you can reduce bills to (almost) zero when no energy is used.
🔹 Solar-plus-battery households
If your panels and battery already cover most of your daytime demand, paying only for the odd top-up import can make more sense than a fixed daily fee.
🔹 Short-let landlords (Airbnb, etc.)
Vacant gaps between bookings will no longer cost you money every single day.
💡 Example: A studio flat using 1,500 kWh of electricity a year would pay ~£385 in standing charges and unit costs under the summer 2025 cap. Switching to a zero standing charge tariff at (say) 32 p/kWh could cut the bill to ~£180 – a £200 saving if your current standing charges are high. (Actual rates will vary by region and supplier.)
Who could pay more?
⚠️ High-consumption homes
A family using 12,000 kWh of electricity a year would add ~£720 if the zero-standing-charge tariff were just 6 p/kWh dearer than today’s cap rate – wiping out the saved standing charge and increasing the bill overall.
⚠️ Electric heating or EV charging
Large loads magnify the impact of a higher unit price. In many cases, a cheap overnight EV-specific tariff with a standing charge will remain cheaper.
⚠️ Medically essential equipment users
Ofgem warns that vulnerable high-usage customers could end up worse off and is consulting on safeguards such as automatic opt-outs for people on Priority Services Registers.
New features you’ll see in October 2025 tariffs
- Rising or falling-block structures – a higher price for the first slice of daily usage, then cheaper thereafter (or vice-versa).
- Minimum-usage clauses – to ensure each customer contributes a baseline amount toward network costs, some tariffs may impose a small annual minimum bill.
- Smart-meter only – because precise half-hour data is essential for billing without a daily fee, most suppliers will require a working smart meter.
A quick five-step self-check
- Pull your last 12-month usage (kWh, not £).
- Divide the standing-charge cost by your consumption to see how much you currently pay per kWh before you use a single unit (for an average home, it’s ~5 p/kWh).
- Estimate the new unit rate premium (suppliers suggest +5–10 p/kWh for electricity, +2–3 p/kWh for gas).
- Run the maths – does the extra premium times your kWh beat the standing charge you’d drop?
- Factor in behavioural change – could you shift demand or use even less?
If the numbers still come out in your favour, you’re a good candidate for a zero standing charge tariff.
Latest standing-charge reference rates (price-cap 1 July – 30 Sept 2025)
- Electricity standing charge (GB average): 51.37 p/day
- Gas standing charge (GB average): 29.82 p/day
- Typical dual-fuel bill: £1,720 / year
Keep an eye on Ofgem’s 27th August announcement for the October–December cap – that will fix the “default” rates against which zero-standing-charge tariffs will be compared.
Tools & resources
- Price-comparison sites (Uswitch, MoneySavingExpert, Citizens Advice) will add a “zero standing charge” filter once tariffs go live.
- Standing-charge calculators like the one on our site will help you model different scenarios.
- Smart-meter apps (DCC-connected) give half-hourly export/import data for precision budgeting.
Switching timeline
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 20 Mar 2025 | Consultation on tariff design closed. |
| 27 Aug 2025 | Ofgem publishes Oct–Dec price-cap numbers (includes zero-SC variant details). |
| 1 Oct 2025 | Suppliers obliged to have at least one low- or zero-standing-charge tariff available. |
| Winter 2025/26 | First full quarter of real-world billing data for new tariffs. |
Zero standing charge deals will finally give you a genuine choice over how fixed network costs are paid. They are not a universal money-saver, but for low-usage, intermittent-usage or multiple-property households, they can shave hundreds off annual bills. Do the sums with your own kWh figures, watch for minimum-usage rules, and compare offers this autumn before deciding.
✅ Quick checklist – will you benefit?
- ✔️ Annual electricity use below ~3,000 kWh
- ✔️ Property is empty for long periods
- ✔️ Solar-plus-battery or similar low-grid-draw tech
- ✔️ Comfortable self-managing tariff choices
- ❌ Large family / high electric-heat use
- ❌ Rely on medical equipment running 24/7
This guide will be kept up to date as Ofgem finalises the new price-cap variant and suppliers publish their October 2025 tariffs – bookmark it or sign up for alerts so you don’t miss out.
