Power invoice standing fees to be minimize from April – however not all will see financial savings

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Your assist makes all of the distinction. Learn extra Standing cost charges on power payments are set to be minimize from April this yr as the federal government tells suppliers to vary how they invoice clients.

From 1 April, power suppliers ought to start to get better prices for the nice and cozy dwelling low cost scheme from the electrical energy unit price, fairly than from the standing cost.

It will cut back the cost by £39 a yr for all households. However as a result of the associated fee is being transferred on to the unit price, this may shift onto the quantity paid for power utilization, cancelling it out for the common family.

Nevertheless, these with low power utilization will nonetheless make a saving, as they may nonetheless solely be charged for the electrical energy they use while having a decrease standing cost to pay.

The transfer comes on prime of Rachel Reeves’s Price range pledge to cut back family payments by £150 a yr by way of scrapping an power effectivity programme.

In its session on altering the standing cost, the division offers the instance of a “high-usage electrical heated family” which, when each modifications are taken collectively, will save roughly £395 from their power payments subsequent yr.

<img src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/11/21/14/4420d5f39bea02170517fee1c07d633fY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzYzODE5MDA1-2.37820759.jpg" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/11/21/14/4420d5f39bea02170517fee1c07d633fY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzYzODE5MDA1-2.37820759.jpg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/11/21/14/4420d5f39bea02170517fee1c07d633fY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzYzODE5MDA1-2.37820759.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" loading="lazy" alt="Bill payers across the UK are set to see a major reduction to their energy costs" class="sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE"/> Invoice payers throughout the UK are set to see a serious discount to their power prices (PA Archive) The Division for Power Safety and Internet Zero (DESNZ) report added: “The shift additionally aligns with the federal government’s manifesto dedication to cut back standing fees, in addition to broader efforts to enhance transparency, client selection, and equity in power pricing.”

Paid by all households, the standing cost on an power invoice represents a baseline that should be paid to the provider, even when no electrical energy is used. Below the present Ofgem worth cap, the common family pays round 55p a day for electrical energy and 35p for fuel, equating to £328 a yr.

Reacting on social media, cash saving skilled Martin Lewis stated: “It’s solely a child step, nevertheless it’s good to see some motion in the fitting route. I feel this can be a totem of the route of journey, and having spoken to each Ed Miliband and the Ofgem boss about this, I feel they're listening to the temper music in regards to the standing cost.

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“The standing cost is an ethical hazard that disincentivises decrease utilization and retains payments excessive for individuals who use little or no power. It’s the largest single explanation for criticism I get about power payments, by a mile.

“Paying £300-plus a yr merely for the ability of getting power is an excessive amount of. It additionally penalises individuals, particularly older individuals, who don’t use fuel in the summertime but nonetheless pay for it each day.”

Minister for power shoppers Martin McCluskey stated: “This authorities is relentlessly targeted on the price of residing, which is why we've got acted to take a median of £150 of prices off power payments from April.

“We're additionally appearing to make our power system fairer. We all know that standing fees are an enormous concern for a lot of households, particularly these on low incomes.

“That's the reason we've got taken the choice to deliver down these fastened prices, making a fairer system and delivering financial savings for households who use much less power.”

This text was amended on 13 February 2026. It initially said that modifications to standing fees would save all UK households a median £40 a yr from April, however that was incorrect. Whereas DESNZ says properties with decrease power utilization will profit most from the change, they haven't launched data on if or the way it will influence on different households.