Fixed-price energy customers face bill shock as standing charges soar

Standing charges are a daily fee applied to gas and electricity bills regardless of whether customers have used any energy. The levy pays for network, supply and distribution costs across the sector and, since last year, has been increased to protect customers whose supplier has ceased trading.

Last year, the fee for electricity was raised by more than 80%, and now accounts for up to 16.5% of the annual bill for a household earning £15,200, according to research by charity the Centre for Sustainable Energy.

It’s expected to rise further when the new price “cap” is announced in April.

EDF customer Stephen Ball was astonished to find that his standing charge for electricity will increase by 102% to 45.76p a day when his two-year fixed-price tariff ends. The standing charge for gas will increase by 12%.

“This equates to around £96 – or 8% – being added to my annual energy bill,” he says. “I’m fully aware of the rise in basic energy costs due to the conflict in Ukraine, and was expecting a significant price increase per energy unit, but it seems to me, that at a time when bills are so excessive, the standing charge should be frozen.”

Shared from The Guardian