What is a standing charge — and why am I paying it?
Last updated: 23 June 2026 · Figures from the current Ofgem price cap
It’s the bit of the bill that annoys people the most: a fixed daily charge you pay before you’ve used a single unit of energy. You can turn everything off, go away for a fortnight, and still come home to a charge.
Here’s exactly what a standing charge is, why it exists, why you pay it even when your house is empty, what it costs right now, why it’s gone up — and what you can (and can’t) do about it.
What a standing charge actually is
A standing charge is a fixed daily fee for being connected to the energy network. Think of it like line rental on a phone: you pay it every day just to have the service available, separately from how much you actually use.
Your energy bill is built from two parts:
- The standing charge — a set amount per day, the same whether you use a lot or nothing at all.
- The unit rate — what you pay for each unit (kWh) of energy you actually use.
You get a standing charge for each fuel. A dual-fuel home pays one for electricity and one for gas, so they stack up.
Why does it exist at all?
The standing charge pays for the things that cost money whether or not you’re using energy at any given moment:
- Maintaining the pipes, cables and substations that bring energy to your door.
- Keeping a working meter at your property and reading it.
- Government and social schemes — like support for vulnerable customers and the cost of suppliers that went bust during the energy crisis.
In other words, it’s the cost of keeping you connected and ready to use energy, not the energy itself.
Why you pay it even with zero usage or an empty house
Because the standing charge isn’t for the energy — it’s for the connection. The network still has to keep your property hooked up, keep your meter live, and maintain the infrastructure whether you’re home, away on holiday, or the place is sitting empty.
So a holiday home, a flat between tenants, or a house you’ve left for a month still builds up around 92p a day across both fuels — roughly £335.80 a year even if not a single unit is used.
It feels unfair, and a lot of people think so too — but it’s baked into how the system is funded. The good news: an empty property is one of the few cases where you can genuinely reduce or remove it (more on that below).
What a standing charge costs right now
Standing charges are capped by Ofgem. Under the current price cap, the typical figures are:
| Per day | Per year | |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity standing charge | 61p | £222.65 |
| Gas standing charge | 31p | £113.15 |
| Both fuels combined | 92p | £335.80 |
Source: Ofgem price cap. Standing charges vary a little by region and payment method — these are the typical cap-level figures.
These are caps, so you shouldn’t pay more than this on a standard variable tariff — but you might pay less on the right deal. The standing charge is also set to change with the July 2026 price cap — worth checking how the next cap affects your bill.
Why has the standing charge risen?
Standing charges have climbed sharply in recent years, and it’s not mainly about the cost of energy. The biggest reasons:
- Supplier failures. When dozens of suppliers collapsed during the 2021–22 energy crisis, the cost of moving their customers and honouring credit balances was spread across everyone’s standing charges.
- Network upgrades. Maintaining and modernising the grid for more renewable energy costs money, and a chunk of that sits in the standing charge.
- Policy costs. Government schemes and social support have increasingly been recovered through fixed charges rather than unit rates.
Ofgem knows this is unpopular and has consulted on lowering the electricity standing charge and shifting more cost onto unit rates — which would reward people who use less. For now, though, it remains a sizeable fixed part of every bill.
What you can — and can’t — do about it
You can
- Check a no-standing-charge tariff if you’re a very low user or the property is empty — these exist, but usually charge a higher unit rate, so they only win for light users.
- Ask about an empty-property rate — for a genuinely vacant home you can sometimes reduce the charge, or even disconnect the supply entirely for long voids.
- Make sure the rest of your bill isn’t too high. The standing charge is fixed, but the unit rate around it is where most overpaying hides.
You can’t
- Avoid it on a normal tariff. For an occupied home on a standard deal, the standing charge is effectively unavoidable.
- Dodge it by using less. Cutting your usage lowers the unit-rate part of your bill, but the standing charge stays exactly the same.
- Negotiate it below the cap level easily. It’s set by your tariff and region, not by haggling.
The honest takeaway: for most people in an occupied home, the standing charge is a fixed cost you can’t escape. The real savings come from checking you’re not overpaying on the unit rate — which is exactly the bit that varies wildly between suppliers and tariffs.
Want to see how your standing charge compares to your supplier’s typical rates? We’ve broken down a few of the big ones: British Gas, Octopus Energy and E.ON Next.
Common questions
What is a standing charge on an energy bill?
A fixed daily fee you pay just to be connected to the gas and electricity network — a bit like line rental for energy. You pay it every day no matter how much you use. Under the current cap it's about 61p a day for electricity and 31p a day for gas.
Do I pay a standing charge even if I use no energy?
Yes. It's a fixed charge for having an active connection and meter, so it applies even with zero usage. An empty house still builds up roughly 92p a day — about £335.80 a year across both fuels.
Why do I pay it when my house is empty or I'm away?
Because it pays for keeping your property connected and your meter live, not for energy used. For a genuinely vacant property you can sometimes reduce it with a no-standing-charge tariff, an empty-property rate, or by disconnecting the supply.
Why has the standing charge gone up?
Mainly because costs from supplier failures during the energy crisis, network upgrades, and government policy schemes have been moved into it. Ofgem has consulted on lowering it, but it remains a significant fixed part of every bill.
Can I avoid paying a standing charge?
Mostly no for an occupied home. A few suppliers offer no-standing-charge tariffs that suit very low users or empty properties, though they charge a higher unit rate. For most people the bigger saving is making sure the unit rate isn't too high.
Is your standing charge — or the rest of your bill — too high?
Upload your bill and we’ll read it for you, then tell you in plain English what you’re paying and whether it’s normal — based on your actual usage, not a national average. Your bill is deleted the moment we’re done with it.
Check my billStanding-charge figures are the typical levels under the current Ofgem price cap and vary by region and payment method. BillLuma is not affiliated with Ofgem or any energy supplier. We earn a small commission if you switch — it doesn’t affect our advice.