Gas and electricity standing charges explained
Understand what the gas and electricity standing charges are on your bill, how they work and whether you have to pay them.
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Updated on 30th March 2026 by:
Anna Rothberg, Energy Pricing and Hedge Analyst
In this guide
- What are gas and electricity standing charges?
- How do standing charges work?
- Plans for energy tariffs with no standing charge
- How much is the standing charge for gas and electricity?
- Do I pay a standing charge with prepayment meters?
- Do smart meters include standing charges?
- Who sets gas and electricity standing charges?
- Why do standing charges increase?
- Can I avoid paying standing charges?
What are gas and electricity standing charges?
A standing charge is a fixed daily amount that you pay on your bill regardless of how much energy you use. Standing charges apply to both gas and electricity and will vary by supplier, where you live, how you pay and what meter you have.
Standing charges cover the cost of:
- Maintaining the energy supply network – the wires and cables that deliver the gas and electricity to our homes
- Supporting social and energy investment schemes
- Operating costs - such as billing and metering services
- Failed suppliers exiting the energy market – electricity only
How do standing charges work?
You’ll see two main charges on your energy bill:
Unit rate
The cost you agreed with your energy supplier for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of gas or electricity you use, which could be fixed or variable.
Standing charge
A fixed daily charge you pay in addition to the unit rate regardless of how much gas or electricity you use to cover the cost of being connected to the energy network. It’s the cost of having a gas or electricity supply, like line rental for energy.
Ofgem’s reason for having separate standing charges is to distribute the amounts evenly across all energy suppliers.
Plans for energy tariffs with low standing charge
Reducing standing charges from energy bills could be beneficial for low-usage households, but low standing charges will likely come with higher gas and electricity unit rates. The costs included in standing charges don’t go away, but they could be charged differently, providing more choice on the tariffs available.
When will energy tariffs with low standing charges come in?
Ofgem are currently consulting on whether suppliers should offer a low standing charge tariff as customers show a clear desire to have more control over how they pay their energy costs. This trial is set to start later this year where energy suppliers will offer a low standing charge product to a small cohort of customers.
What does it mean for me?
If you’re a low energy-usage household, or you simply prefer to have more direct control of your costs, then a no-standing charge or low-standing charge tariff may work for you.
However, if you’re a vulnerable customer who uses a lot of energy, perhaps for medical or health needs, shifting fixed costs to unit rates may not be beneficial and paying the standing charge separately may be more affordable.
How much is the standing charge for electricity and gas?
Standing charges apply to both gas and electricity and will vary by supplier, where you live, how you pay and what meter you have. Generally, homes in more rural locations - where the gas or electricity supply has to travel further from where it’s generated - have higher standing charges.
The energy price cap, set by the energy regulator Ofgem, limits the amount a supplier can charge if you’re on a standard variable tariff.
Prices change quarterly in January, April, July and October. Check out our average bill guide for the latest rates.
When you compare energy suppliers check the prices for gas and electricity unit rates and standing charges. If you’re going direct to the supplier, also check that your quote is based on the same annual consumption as often suppliers use different assumptions to generate quotes.
What costs make up the standing charge?
Standing charge costs for standard variable, dual fuel tariff paying by direct debit from 1st April to 30th June 2026.
When do I pay electricity and gas standing charges?
The gas and electricity standing charge is a daily fee that’s applied to your bill if your property has a gas and/or electricity connection, even if the property is empty for part of the year.
If you’re moving home, you may be able to ask the energy provider to suspend standing charges if the property is going to be unoccupied for some time.
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Choose a fixed energy tariff and protect yourself from future price cap increases. And, if we launch a cheaper fixed tariff that’s better for you, you can switch for free.
Do I pay a standing charge with prepayment meters?
Standing charges are included with prepayment energy tariffs where you pay-as-you-go using a prepayment meter and must still be paid even if you don’t have credit on your meter. So, when you next top up, you’ll have to pay back all the standing charges you owe.
This is something to watch out for if, for example, you don’t use any gas in summer when the heating is off.
Do smart meters include standing charges?
If you have smart meters, you’ll still pay standing charges. They are included in the total on your Smart Energy Monitor or in-home energy display which tells you how much energy you’ve used per day, week, and month.
So even if you use no energy all day, the display will still show that you’ve been charged a small amount.
Who sets gas and electricity standing charges?
Your energy supplier sets the level of gas and electricity standing charges, based on how much it costs for maintaining the energy network, operating costs like metering and billing, and costs levied by government for energy related social and environmental policy schemes.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, limits how much suppliers can charge on a default tariff through the energy price cap.
Why do standing charges change?
As the cost of maintaining Britain’s energy network and metered supply to your home plus government support schemes changes, so do standing charges – much like the rental on your mobile phone. See our average bill guide for a breakdown of what makes up your energy bills.
Here we explain the main factors that have driven more recent standing charge increases:
Network charges
The way we all pay for using the energy network has been under reform for several years. The first of many decisions came into effect in 2022 when Ofgem ruled that the costs for using and maintaining the network infrastructure (which were previously included in unit rates) would be moved to a fixed charge and collected via increased standing charges. Network costs have also been increasing because of the need to upgrade and expand our energy infrastructure plus rising costs for materials and wages.
Cost of failed suppliers
29 suppliers exited the energy market during the energy crisis with total costs being shared across the remaining suppliers through the ‘Supplier of Last Resort’ process as set by Ofgem. It’s added onto the electricity standing charge as all households need electricity and doesn’t penalise households based on consumption so evenly spreads the recovery of these costs.
Warm Home Discount scheme
This government initiative started in 2011 to provide energy relief to vulnerable households and has been fully recovered through standing charge until now. From April 2026 the majority of this cost will be recovered from the Unit Rate, resulting in a reduction in standing charge cost.
Can I avoid paying standing charges?
You may be able to reduce the cost of gas and electricity standing charges if you can find a lower standing charge tariff. But that may mean you pay more for each unit of gas or electricity you use and medium to high energy users may end up paying more for their energy.
A low standing charge energy tariff only makes sense if you use very little energy, if for example, the property is a holiday home or its empty for substantial periods.
If you’re moving home, you may be able to ask your energy provider to suspend standing charges if the property is going to be unoccupied for some time.
For longer term solutions, you may be able to get your meter disconnected or removed, but there’s costs associated, so check with your supplier.
Do I have to pay standing charges on an empty property?
The energy standing charge is a daily fee that you’ll pay every day your property has an energy connection. You’ll still be charged even if you don’t use any electricity or gas. It’s the cost of having a gas and/or electricity supply, like line rental for energy.