Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brierley (right)

During a recent visit to Energy Projects Plus by Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brierley (pictured, right, at a community engagement event delivered by our Jo and Katie), our team of Energy Advisors were keen to highlight to him how unfair we feel it is for prepay customers to be expected to find additional funds to cover their daily standing charge, on days when they don’t use any energy (either through deliberate choice, or because they can’t afford it).

Each Autumn we receive panicked calls from residents who have topped-up their gas meter for the first time since Spring. They’ve spent their last £10 and the meter still isn’t providing their family with any warmth. Has something broken? No, unfortunately, the current standing charge rate of 34.2p per day for prepay gas meters in Merseyside and Cheshire, means over 6 months they will owe £62 for daily standing charge costs, which they have to pay before they are allowed to access any gas through their meter. For electricity meters the current rate is 64.33p per day in our region. Combined, they add £360 to the annual bill.

We’re not alone in thinking something needs to change: Citizens Advice, NEA, Fuelbank Foundation, Martin Lewis, and others have been active in challenging government regarding the nature of standing charges.

What are standing charges?

A client’s smart meter display, showing a debt of £65.48 outstanding.

The standing charge is a cost that is included in each electricity and gas bill. It is a cost set by your supplier. It is also included in the energy price cap that Ofgem reviews and sets every three months. Your supplier will charge you this cost each day, even if you do not use any energy on that day. The amount you pay will depend on your supplier and where you live within England, Scotland or Wales. 

The charge covers the cost to maintain the energy supply network, take meter readings, and support government social schemes, for example helping people that cannot afford energy, and environmental schemes. 

Some suppliers do not include a standing charge in their tariffs. Instead, they offer a tariff that works in a similar way, but you pay a bit more for the first one or two units called kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy you use. 

How do I have my say?

Ofgem has today (16th November) announced it’s opening up the debate about standing charges. They want to hear views from: 

• consumers, people who pay the electricity or gas bill in their household 

• energy sector, including suppliers 

• consumer groups 

• charities 

How to respond

Read Ofgem’s standing charges call for input discussion paper and reply by emailing your views to StandingCharges@ofgem.gov.uk by Friday 19 January 2024.