No standing charge energy tariffs and suppliers – 2025

Standing charges are like a daily membership fee for your energy services. Think of it as paying a little bit every day to ensure that gas and electricity can come into your home whenever you need them.

This fee helps pay for the pipes and wires that bring energy to your house and also covers the cost of keeping these services running smoothly.

Here’s a breakdown of what standing charges cover:

1. Maintenance: They help maintain the huge network of cables and pipes that deliver energy to all homes.
2. Energy Supply: Even when you’re not using energy, your home is always connected to the supply. Standing charges help keep this connection ready and available.
3. Meter readings: Not sure much of a cost now with the growing use of smart meters
4. Costs of failed suppliers: Costs from these suppliers that went bust are spread among all other existing suppliers
5. Government initiatives: Such as the Warm Home discount or environmental initiatives

Whether you use a lot or a little energy, you’ll pay this charge every day. It’s separate from the cost of the actual gas or electricity you use, which will change depending on how much energy you consume.

Which energy suppliers have no standing charge?

Currently, there is only one supplier in the UK (as of January 2025) that offers no standing charge, and this is Utilita.

They offer a variable tariff with zero standing charges for both gas and electricity.

The rates are below for their tariff in the East Midlands (Price per kWh may vary based on your location):

Does Octopus Energy have a standing charge?

Yes, Octopus Energy does have a standing charge. They are, however, one of the suppliers with the lowest standing charge. They also claim they have the cheapest standard tariff rates of any large supplier.

Octopus Energy does have a no-standing charge tariff available, but this is currently only available to businesses.

As mentioned above, Utilita is the only supplier that does not have a standing charge. British Gas, E.On Next, OVO, EDF and all other suppliers do not offer zero standing charge tariffs.

Ofgem announces suppliers will have to offer no standing charge tariffs

Under a new proposal by Ofgem, energy suppliers will be forced to offer customers tariffs with no standing charges by next winter.

Ofgem’s proposal is that alongside the existing tariff type where a standing charge is billed separately to unit cost (meaning you pay that charge even if you use no energy), an additional tariff will be available where the standing charge is combined with the unit cost.

This change is likely to benefit users who use less energy and those whose properties may be unoccupied for lengths of time, but it does mean those users will pay more for each unit of energy they use.

Which energy suppliers and tariffs have the lowest standing charge?

With Utilita being the only supplier that currently offers no standing charge, we’ve looked at the top suppliers to see who has the cheapest standing charge for both gas and electricity (this is again for the East Midlands).

Cheapest Standing Charge Variable tariffs

As you can see below, for a gas and electricity variable tariff, Octopus Energy leads the way with the lowest standing charges on both (except for Utilita).

Over the course of a year, you would pay £307.59 in standing charges with Octopus.

Cheapest Standing Charge Fixed tariffs

When it comes to a dual fuel fixed tariff, Octopus also offers the cheapest combined standing charge for gas and electricity. This is the same as their variable tariff at £307.59 over a year.

If you are looking for the cheapest suppliers overall, check out our guide here.

Who has the cheapest standing charge for gas and electricity?

Here is a quick summary of which energy suppliers currently offer the cheapest standing chargers for gas and electricity (this excludes Utilitia, who offer a zero standing charge tariff):

• Cheapest standing charge for electricity: Octopus Energy (Fixed and variable tariff)
• Cheapest Standing charge for gas: Octopus Energy (Fixed and variable tariff)
• Cheapest standing charge for gas and electricity: Octopus Energy (Fixed and variable tariff)

If you are a standard energy user, it is best to consider unit rates alongside the standing charge, as your bill may be cheaper overall, even with a supplier with a higher standing charge. Those with very low energy usage are more likely to save money with a lower standing charge tariff.

Try our Standing Charge cost calculator

We have created a quick calculator below where you can experiment with different standing charges to see how much they add up over the course of a day, month, week and year. You should be able to find your standing charges on your latest energy bill.

Should I choose a supplier with the lowest standing charge?

Choosing an energy supplier with the lowest standing charge might seem like a smart way to save money, but it’s not always straightforward.

The total bill is what really affects your wallet, combining the standing charge and the price you pay for each unit of energy (called the unit rate). Sometimes, a lower standing charge comes with a higher unit rate, and if you use a lot of energy, this could end up costing more.

• Low Usage: If you don’t use much energy, maybe because you’re often out or your home is very energy-efficient, a low standing charge could save you money.
• High Usage: For homes using lots of energy, maybe with larger families or less efficient appliances, finding a balance between a reasonable standing charge and a lower unit rate might be better.

With Utilita, for example, despite having no standing charge on their variable tariff, their unit rate for electricity is more than double that of Octopus and more than three times higher when it comes to gas.

The average three-bedroom home would have a lower bill with Octopus. A very low-energy user in a smaller home, however, would likely have a cheaper bill with Utilita.