No standing charge energy tariffs and suppliers – 2026

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.

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 programme 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.

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