No standing charge energy tariffs and suppliers – 2026
In Great Britain, energy bills are made up of two main parts: the unit rate for the gas and electricity you actually use, and a fixed daily fee called the.
Contents
- 1.Introduction to zero standing charge tariffs
- 2.What is a standing charge and why do we pay it?
- 3.Which suppliers offer no standing charge tariffs?
- 4.The catch: how suppliers recoup the missing daily fee
- 5.Who benefits from a zero standing charge?
- 6.The Ofgem pilot and the future of standing charges
- 7.Which standard tariffs have the lowest standing charges?
- 8.Practical ways to reduce your energy costs
- 9.Final verdict on zero standing charge tariffs
- 10.FAQs
Introduction to zero standing charge tariffs
In Great Britain, energy bills are made up of two main parts: the unit rate for the gas and electricity you actually use, and a fixed daily fee called the standing charge. You pay the standing charge every day, even if your home sits empty and you use no energy at all. For many households, this fixed fee feels unfair, especially when trying to cut back on usage to save money.[1]
As a result, many people look for energy tariffs with no standing charge. While these tariffs do exist, they are very rare and come with strict conditions. The suppliers that offer them do not simply wipe away the fixed costs of supplying your home. Instead, they move those costs over to the unit rate. This means every time you boil a kettle or turn on the heating, you pay a higher price than you would on a standard tariff.
Unless your property sits empty for months or you use very little energy, a zero standing charge tariff will likely increase your overall bill due to the inflated unit rates.
What is a standing charge and why do we pay it?
A standing charge is essentially a daily line rental for your energy supply. It covers the fixed costs of keeping your property connected to the national energy grid, regardless of how much gas or electricity you draw from it.
The money collected through standing charges goes toward several different areas. A large portion pays for the physical maintenance of the network, including the wires, pipes, and substations that carry energy to your door. It also covers the cost of meter maintenance and the administration needed to keep your account active.
In recent years, the standing charge also absorbed the cost of suppliers going out of business. When dozens of energy companies collapsed, the cost of moving their customers to new suppliers was spread across everyone's bills via the standing charge. On top of this, it used to cover various government environmental and social schemes.
Which suppliers offer no standing charge tariffs?
As of July 2026, only two energy suppliers offer true zero standing charge tariffs: Utilita and E Energy. However, these tariffs are not available to everyone. Both suppliers restrict their zero standing charge options exclusively to customers with prepayment meters (pay-as-you-go).
If you pay for your energy by Direct Debit or on receipt of a monthly bill, you cannot sign up for a zero standing charge tariff with either of these suppliers. In the past, Utilita did offer a zero standing charge option for standard credit customers, but this is no longer the case. The market has shifted, and suppliers find it too risky to offer zero fixed fees to households paying in arrears.
While Octopus Energy does have a tariff with no standing charge, this is currently restricted to business customers. For standard domestic homes, the options remain strictly limited to the prepayment tariffs from Utilita and E Energy.
The catch: how suppliers recoup the missing daily fee
Energy suppliers still have to pay the network operators for your connection to the grid, even if they do not pass that daily fee directly on to you. To cover this cost, suppliers offering zero standing charge tariffs apply a massive markup to their unit rates.
This means you pay significantly more for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of gas and electricity you use. In many cases, suppliers use a two-tier pricing system for these tariffs. Under a two-tier system, the first block of energy you use each day or month is charged at a very high premium rate. Once you pass that threshold, the price drops to a lower rate for the rest of your usage.
This structure guarantees that as long as you use a basic amount of energy, the supplier recovers the money they would have made from a standing charge. If you use an average or high amount of energy, that inflated unit rate is applied to a large portion of your usage, causing your total bill to rise far above what you would pay on a standard tariff.
Who benefits from a zero standing charge?
Because of the high unit rates, a zero standing charge tariff is only a good idea for a very specific type of household. You have to calculate the break-even point: the exact amount of energy usage where the higher unit rate overtakes the £315 saved on the standing charge.
If you are a very low energy user, perhaps living alone in a small, highly energy-efficient flat, you might stay below the break-even point. But for a standard three-bedroom house running a washing machine, oven, TV, and typical heating, the higher unit rates will make a zero standing charge tariff a poor financial choice.
The Ofgem pilot and the future of standing charges
Ofgem has reviewed standing charges since 2023 and consulted on lower or zero standing-charge options during 2025. Many campaigners wanted the regulator to force all suppliers to offer zero standing charge tariffs. However, Ofgem decided against a blanket mandate. The regulator found that completely removing the standing charge would heavily penalise vulnerable households who need to use a lot of energy, such as those relying on medical equipment at home, because they would be hit by the resulting high unit rates.[1]
Instead of forcing a total ban, Ofgem launched a one-year pilot program in June 2026. Major suppliers, including British Gas, EDF, E.ON, and Octopus, are taking part in this scheme. They are testing alternative tariffs that feature lower standing charges rather than removing them entirely.
This pilot will run until June 2027 to see how lower fixed fees affect consumer bills and behaviour. The results will help Ofgem decide whether to change how standing charges work permanently.
The debate over standing charges became even more relevant when energy prices rose by roughly 13% on 1 July 2026. This increase, driven by rising global wholesale costs linked to conflicts in the Middle East, pushed the typical dual-fuel Direct Debit bill to £1,862 a year. Note that Ofgem recently updated its typical usage figures to reflect that people are generally using less energy; under that newer, lower-use metric, the average bill sits at £1,663.
Which standard tariffs have the lowest standing charges?
Since most households cannot access a zero standing charge tariff, the next best option is to find a standard supplier with lower-than-average fixed fees. While all major suppliers charge a daily fee, some price it slightly below the Ofgem price cap average.
| Supplier | Tariff Name | Electricity Standing Charge | Gas Standing Charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus Energy | Flexible Octopus | Varies by region and payment method | Varies by region and payment method |
| British Gas | Standard Variable | 53.60p a day | 28.78p a day |
| EDF Energy | Standard Variable | 53.60p a day | 28.78p a day |
| Sainsbury's Energy | Standard Variable | 53.60p a day | 28.78p a day |
| Good Energy | Standard | 66.55p a day | 34.05p a day |
As the table shows, Octopus Energy currently offers slightly lower standing charges on its standard variable tariff compared to the likes of British Gas and EDF. Good Energy, which focuses heavily on renewable sourcing, charges a notably higher daily fee.
When comparing these options, you must always look at the unit rate alongside the standing charge. A tariff with a slightly higher daily fee but a much cheaper unit rate will often work out better for an average or high-usage household.
Practical ways to reduce your energy costs
If you cannot avoid the standing charge, you have to focus on the parts of your bill you can control. Lowering your unit rate and reducing your overall consumption are the most effective ways to offset the £315 a year you pay in fixed fees.
Final verdict on zero standing charge tariffs
Most households should stick to a standard tariff, as the inflated unit rates on zero standing charge deals will cost you more in the long run.
While avoiding the daily fee sounds appealing, the reality is that suppliers have to recover those network costs somehow. By baking the fees into the unit rate, zero standing charge tariffs heavily penalise anyone who uses a normal amount of energy. On top of this, the restriction to prepayment meters makes them inaccessible to the vast majority of households paying by Direct Debit.
Unless you are dealing with a property that sits empty for months at a time, or you have exceptionally low energy usage, a standard tariff with competitive unit rates is the most practical choice. For now, the best approach is to compare standard deals, look for suppliers with slightly lower fixed fees like Octopus Energy, and focus on reducing your daily consumption.
Frequently asked questions
Can I avoid standing charges by switching off my appliances?
No. The standing charge is a fixed daily fee for keeping your property connected to the energy grid. You will be charged this amount every day regardless of whether you turn on any appliances or use any energy.
Does Octopus Energy have a no standing charge tariff?
Octopus Energy does have a tariff with zero standing charges, but it is currently only available to business customers. For domestic households, they charge a daily fee, though their standard rates are often slightly lower than the Ofgem average.
Can anyone switch to a zero standing charge tariff?
Currently, no. The only two true zero standing charge tariffs on the market from Utilita and E Energy are restricted to customers with prepayment meters. You cannot get these tariffs if you pay by Direct Debit or standard credit.
Will Ofgem ban standing charges entirely?
Ofgem decided against a complete ban, as removing the standing charge entirely would force unit rates up, hurting vulnerable people who need high amounts of energy. Instead, they are running a pilot until June 2027 to test lower standing charge models.
Are zero standing charge tariffs cheaper overall?
For most typical households, they are not cheaper. Because the supplier charges a much higher unit rate to make up for the missing daily fee, average and high energy users will end up paying more on a zero standing charge tariff.
Related reviews and comparisons
Cheapest Fixed Energy Tariffs in the UK
As we head into summer and heating usage drops, many households take the opportunity to reassess their energy bills. When considering a fixed tariff, the main challenge is balancing price certainty with flexibility. A fixed deal locks in your unit rates and standing charge for the duration of the co
Read article→
100Green Review
100Green, formerly known as Green Energy UK, is an independent energy supplier based in Hertfordshire. Set up in 2001, it is one of the UK's oldest independent energy suppliers outside the traditional big firms. Today, it operates as one of the UK's smaller domestic energy suppliers, focusing entire
Read review→Standing Charge Calculator
Standing Charge Calculator. Calculate how much your gas and electricity standing charges cost per day, week, month and year. A simple standing charge calculator so you can work out how much your standing charge is costing you per day, week, month and year for both gas and electricity. To use it, all
Try calculator→Energy Bill Calculator
Energy Bill Calculator. Calculate your gas and electricity bill over any time period using your standing charge, unit rate and usage. This electricity and gas bill calculator helps you estimate how much you should be expecting to pay for your energy over any set period of time. This is both an elect
Try calculator→Octopus Energy vs Ecotricity
Octopus Energy is currently the UK's largest energy supplier. It offers the lowest-priced overall deal in this comparison with its Octopus 12M Fixed July 2026 v2 tariff, costing £1,697 a year. This is a 12-month fixed contract with a £100 total exit fee. By contrast, Ecotricity’s lowest-priced optio
Read comparison→Related guides
Zero Standing Charge Tariffs: What you need to know
Every energy bill in Great Britain is split into two parts. The first part is the unit rate, which is the price you pay for the actual gas and electricity you use. The second part is the standing charge. This is a fixed daily fee that you have to pay just to be connected to the energy network. You p
Read guide→
How to decide if a zero standing charge tariff is right for you
Every day, your energy supplier charges you a fixed fee just for being connected to the grid. This happens even if you do not turn on a single light switch or boil a kettle. For many people, this daily fee feels unfair, especially during the summer months when energy use drops or when a property sit
Read guide→
Who is cheaper than British Gas? (2026)
British Gas is one of the UK's largest energy suppliers, but staying on its default standard variable tariff is currently one of the most expensive ways to pay for your gas and electricity. Following a 13% rise in the Ofgem price cap on 1 July 2026, household energy bills have jumped again, driven b
Read guide→
Written by
Rob Gibbs
Hi, I'm Rob, and I run Energy-Review.co.uk. I initially started this project in 2018 when I was looking to switch energy suppliers and found there wasn't a website that provided simple, data-backed reviews on all the suppliers available. Since then, I have spent a lot of time (too much, some may say!) looking at all publicly available data about each supplier and writing reviews using this information. These reviews are updated as regularly as possible, and any data is backed up by a source where necessary. I have also started writing guides on various energy-related topics, which hopefully you will find useful. If you find any issues, please use our contact form to let us know.