What is the low standing charge trial?
The low standing charge trial is an Ofgem backed pilot testing tariffs with a smaller daily standing charge and a slightly higher unit rate. Four of the UK’s biggest energy suppliers are running it this summer, aiming to answer a question households have been asking for years: what if the fixed fee was smaller, even if the unit price crept up a little?
Octopus Energy, British Gas, EDF and E.ON are all taking part. Octopus was first out of the blocks, opening its low standing charge tariff to a limited batch of customers on 7 July. British Gas has confirmed it’s joining but hadn’t launched its version at the time of writing. The pilot runs for around a year, with Ofgem using the results to decide whether lower standing charges should become a permanent option for everyone.
Standing charges have been a sore point for years. They’re the fixed daily fee you pay just for being connected, before you’ve used a single unit of gas or electricity, and they’ve climbed steadily even as the wider price cap has moved up and down. If you want the full breakdown of how they’re calculated, our guide to standing charges covers it in more depth.
Which suppliers are running the low standing charge trial?
Four suppliers: Octopus, EDF, E.ON and British Gas, though British Gas hadn’t launched its version at the time of writing. It’s a four way test, not a market wide switch. Octopus is live. EDF and E.ON have their own versions in progress. None of this changes your existing contract, so if you’re not actively offered a spot on the trial, nothing about your current tariff moves.
Roo would call this the industry finally admitting the standing charge debate has a point. The voice of reason in us says: read the small print before you get excited.
Who actually benefits from a low standing charge tariff?
Mostly people who use less energy than average. Small flats, one person living alone, a house that’s empty half the week. EDF’s version of the trial is pitched as saving dual fuel customers around £150 a year on the standing charge, but that saving only survives if your usage stays low enough to keep the higher unit rate from eating it straight back up.
As a rough guide, the trials are aimed at households using well under the typical 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year that Ofgem uses for its own price cap example. We break down what that typical figure actually looks like on a bill in our average energy bill guide. Think small flats, single occupants, or homes that are empty for long stretches, not a family running the heating all winter.
Low standing charge trial: the basics
- Four suppliers involved: Octopus, EDF, E.ON, British Gas (still to launch).
- Ofgem backed pilot running for around a year.
- Standing charge drops, unit rate rises to balance it.
- Best suited to low usage households, not average or high users.
- Places are limited and offered directly by the supplier, not something you can simply request.
The catch: why most households won’t save on a low standing charge tariff
Here’s the bit that doesn’t make the headline. A lower standing charge has to be paid for somewhere. That somewhere is a higher unit rate. Use anything close to an average amount of gas and electricity, and the extra you pay per unit can cancel out, or even overtake, what you saved on the standing charge in the first place.
This is the whole point of a trial rather than a blanket rollout. Ofgem says it wants real usage data before deciding whether shifting more cost onto unit rates helps low usage households without quietly punishing everyone else. Nothing here is guaranteed to suit your household, and nobody should assume a lower standing charge automatically means a lower bill.
It’s also worth saying plainly: this will not undo a price cap rise or replace the saving from switching supplier altogether. It’s one narrow tariff option, not a fix for the wider cost of energy.
How do I check if I qualify for the low standing charge trial?
Start with your own supplier, since only Octopus, EDF, E.ON and British Gas are involved so far. Octopus customers can check eligibility in the app or online account. EDF and E.ON are rolling theirs out to eligible customers directly, so keep an eye on emails from them rather than searching for a sign up page that may not exist yet.
Before you say yes to anything, look up your last twelve months of usage on a bill or in your online account. If you’re roughly at or above the typical household figures, a low standing charge tariff probably isn’t your win. If you’re well under them, it might be exactly what it says on the tin.
And if none of the four suppliers are yours, this is a good moment to check what you’re paying anyway. Loyalty rarely gets rewarded in energy, trial or no trial, and it’s worth seeing how your current tariff stacks up next to the wider market, big supplier or not. Our guide to the big energy suppliers is a good place to start if you’re not sure who else is out there.
Frequently asked questions about the low standing charge trial
- Is the low standing charge trial open to everyone?
- No. It’s currently limited to eligible customers of Octopus, EDF, E.ON and British Gas, and places within each supplier’s trial are capped.
- Will a low standing charge tariff always save me money?
- Not necessarily. It tends to suit lower usage households best, because the unit rate is higher to make up for the smaller standing charge. Higher usage homes can end up paying more overall.
- How long does the trial run for?
- Around a year, with Ofgem reviewing the results afterwards to decide whether lower standing charge tariffs become a permanent, wider option.
- Can I ask my supplier to move me onto it?
- Only if they’re one of the four suppliers involved, and even then it depends on whether you’re flagged as eligible and whether places are still available.
- Does this affect the standing charge on my current tariff?
- No. If you’re not moved onto a trial tariff, your existing standing charge and unit rate stay exactly as they are.
Whether or not you end up eligible for a low standing charge tariff, doing nothing is still the one guaranteed way to keep paying whatever your supplier feels like charging. Two minutes of checking usually tells you if a better deal exists elsewhere.
