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Tariffs with lower standing charges set to come to market

Energy suppliers will have to offer at least one “low standing charge” tariff from early next year.

A four-week long Ofgem consultation will open the door to the new arrangements, which the regulator says will give consumers more choice on how they pay standing charges. If approved, the plans will allow households to pay the costs of running the grid as part of their unit rate by lowering the daily fixed (standing charge) amount.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:
“Requiring suppliers to offer a lower standing charge tariff is a small step forward, but it is not a cure for people struggling with high energy bills and fuel poverty.

“Prepayment meter customers in particular face the greatest detriment from high standing charges, which build up as debt even while people are not using any energy at all. To make a difference, these tariffs must be available to everyone and they must be easy to compare with existing deals.

“The energy industry must make sure that households properly understand the deals they are signing up for – and if a lower standing charge option will benefit them or not.

“And this development doesn’t negate the need for long term reform to make the system fairer, provide support for households struggling with high energy costs, improve the energy efficiency of people’s homes and increase our energy security through more homegrown renewable power.”

A spokesperson for Independent Age, said:
“Older people on low incomes have consistently expressed their frustration with standing charges that can be unfair and excessive. Which is why we welcome Ofgem’s proposal for energy providers to deliver low standing charge tariff options from next year. For this policy to be a success, the regulator must ensure that suppliers make these tariffs easily accessible and provide the full picture regarding the benefits and drawbacks of switching to one.

“While welcome, this reform does not address the affordability crisis. The weather is starting to get colder and last winter was especially brutal for older people in financial hardships. We regularly heard from people in later life that were sitting in cold damp homes or visiting public places to stay warm. The UK Government cannot allow this to happen again.

“They were right to expand the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment, but now it’s time to start lifting people out of fuel poverty. To do this, the UK Government should introduce a discounted energy social tariff that will finally make standing charges and unit rates more affordable for those in greatest need.”

National Energy Action said:
“Given the public anxiety about standing charges, any progress in this area is positive, but it’s taken a long time to make even this modest step forward and regardless, Standing Charges or unit charges recovered through the overall energy bills, will remain high and even increase.

“Ofgem’s proposals also won’t change the differences consumers pay depending on where they live in GB or how pre-payment households will still be disproportionately impacted by how these fixed or higher unit charges are recovered if they fall into further difficulties paying their energy bills.

“Much of this complexity is being left at the feet of consumers to work through and there is a big worry this could just cause even further disengagement or distrust in what is considered already a baffling market. Given that the main programmes which support energy advice have yet to be extended beyond March next year, the enhanced need for impartial and in-depth advice and support could create huge challenges.”

Jonathan Bean from Fuel Poverty Action, commented:
“Yet again, Ofgem is pretending to help struggling households but is actually protecting energy firms. Instead of tackling the excessive energy industry profits, costs and levies buried in standing charges, it is now trying to hide them in unit costs. People will be left confused instead of protected.”

“This latest Ofgem plan is designed to distract us from high energy prices which are up 70% over five years, despite Government promises to reduce them. People don’t want more confusing options, they just want affordable energy.”

“The government cannot keep hiding behind Ofgem. It must now step in to bring down energy bills before more people get sick and die in cold homes this winter.”

Trump’s fossil fuel fantasy won’t cut UK energy bills

Donald Trump has reignited his war on popular wind power during his UK state visit and urging Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to exploit North Sea gas.

At a joint press conference, the US President repeated his “drill, baby, drill” mantra, while Sir Keir struck a more cautious note, stressing a “pragmatic” mix of fossil fuels, renewables and nuclear in the UK’s energy future.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“The President remains steadfast in towing the line of his fossil fuel backers who are gaslighting the British public about our energy future.

“The truth is, the North Sea is running out of gas – we have burned most of it. By 2027 it won’t even produce enough to heat our homes and only 14% of its original reserves remain commercially viable.

“No amount of bluster about drilling or fracking will bring back cheap gas, all it does is lock households into more reliance on volatile global gas markets.

“The UK is leading the way and showing the world that scaling up renewables and upgrading homes is the fastest, cheapest route to lower bills and lasting energy security.

“Of course we need to go further to bring down bills by reforming electricity pricing, but this won’t be achieved by importing Donald Trump’s fossil fuel agenda.”

Two million households won’t turn on their heating this winter

More than two million households say they won’t turn on their heating this winter, an increase on last year, reveals new Uswitch research.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, a spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said:

“Not turning on your heating is an example of what we call dangerous behaviours. Being unable to heat your home properly is unsafe – it risks your health and leads to damp and mould, which make conditions even worse. Around 200,000 households in Scotland face this extreme form of fuel poverty, but the problem is far wider, with almost half a million Scottish households spending over 20% of their income on energy.”

Across the UK as a whole, over 12 million households spend more than 10% of their income on energy (43%) and around 5 million spend more than 20% on energy bills.

The spokesperson urged households to be alert to scams and to contact their energy supplier to check if they need to apply for the Warm Home Discount (see this Money Saving Expert advice) and other vital support with the cost of energy.

“While support such as the Warm Home Discount and winter heating or winter fuel payments can provide short-term relief, we cannot keep papering over the cracks each year. We need urgent investment in insulation and home upgrades, alongside reform of how energy is priced, so people can live in warm, safe homes without relying on volatile gas imports.”

Renters forced to ration gas and electricity

New research from Citizens Advice finds more than two in five private renters (41%, equivalent to 4.5 million people) in England and Wales had to ration gas and electricity to afford their energy bills last winter.

Meanwhile a third (32%, equivalent to 3.5 million) struggled to heat their home to a comfortable temperature. The charity says this forced people to take drastic measures like skip hot meals, wear gloves inside, and limit heating to just one room.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“Millions of renters are being forced to ration energy, live in cold, damp homes, or even skip hot meals simply because landlords are not required to upgrade properties to a decent standard. At the same time, household energy debt has tripled in the last decade, with people falling behind on bills they can no longer afford.

“The government cannot continue to delay action.

“It must urgently deliver on its promises to raise minimum standards in the rented sector and provide greater protections for private renters through the Renters Reform Bill.

“Alongside that, we need targeted financial help for households with their energy costs, a national programme of area-based insulation upgrades and reforms to electricity pricing to bring down bills.

“Without these reforms tenants will remain trapped in cold, damp homes with devastating consequences for health, wellbeing and household finances.”

Rumours VAT could be scrapped on energy bills

The Times is reporting that the Chancellor is considering axing the 5% VAT on energy bills.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“We’ve long argued that energy for households should be a zero-VAT-rated essential good.

“This would be a hugely positive move by the Chancellor that could bring real relief to households facing a fifth winter of high energy bills. But it must also come alongside stronger, structural measures to reform electricity pricing, provide support for vulnerable households, ensure energy efficiency upgrades and investment in energy security.”

Home upgrade scheme take up rates show mixed picture

The Press Association Radar team have produced a series of articles examining the latest figures for the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and Local Authority Delivery scheme (LAD). These are government schemes supporting energy efficiency upgrades of low-energy efficiency (EPC of D or lower) low-income (household income below £30k) households across England.

The figures show a mixed picture in terms of take up and delivery around the country for the programmes which are now closed to new applications. Overall data does show a clear increase in measures being delivered since the last General Election.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“Every upgrade of a home in fuel poverty is a step in the right direction.

“But we need progress to be delivered at speed and with the urgency the energy bills crisis deserves. Every winter spent in a cold damp home causes misery and health complications for millions of households.

“This is why the Government’s Warm Homes Plan must be rooted in a ‘Warmth First’ principle, treating a warm, dry and affordable-to-heat home as a basic human right.

“And upgrades to homes must come alongside reform to electricity pricing and moves to secure our energy supply in the future, especially given that the North Sea will not be able to meet our gas heating needs from 2027.”

Report suggests radical change in electricity market

A new report from Greenpeace has exposed just how much control fossil gas still has over our electricity bills. Despite making up less than 40% of our power supply, gas-fired power stations set the market price nearly every half hour — inflating costs for households and businesses alike.

This happens because of the way our electricity market is designed: a system called marginal pricing, where the most expensive generator sets the price for everyone.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“This new analysis makes crystal clear what millions of households already feel: the energy market is still rigged in favour of fossil fuel giants.

“Even as renewable generation grows, gas still sets the price of electricity 98% of the time, handing huge profits to energy companies while driving bills higher for households. It’s a structural failure of the market, not a temporary blip.

“The Government’s current strategy is to sit back and hope that marginal pricing will fade as renewables expand. But hope is not a reform plan. Even in a clean system, expensive gas could still set the price during periods of peak demand and households will continue to pay the price.

“Given the failure of the Government’s electricity pricing reform process to deliver meaningful reform so far, new ideas like the one proposed by Greenpeace and Stonehaven to remove gas plants from the wholesale electricity market and place them into a strategic reserve, need to be looked at.

“The electricity market needs structural change, not minor tweaks or warm words.”

30,000 homes left with “botched” insulation

Figures have revealed that around 30,000 UK homes were left with insulation so badly fitted it could make cold, damp conditions worse — undermining the very purpose of government-backed schemes designed to cut bills and improve health. The affected homes appear mostly to have been assisted during a period under the previous Government.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“It is unacceptable that tens of thousands of households have been left with poor quality insulation which could make cold, damp homes even worse.

“The public put their trust in these schemes to make homes warmer, healthier and cheaper to heat and any issues must be rectified as soon as possible by skilled workers.

“In our recommendations to Ministers for their Warm Homes Plan, we have made it clear that it must provide a ‘warm homes guarantee’ so people are assured that they will get the benefits promised, not just a box ticked.

“This Plan also needs to start with the people in the coldest, dampest homes supported by properly trained installers and rigorous checks. The Minister’s recent confirmation of 9,000 new subsidised training places for installers is a good start to achieving this.

“More broadly, we also need to see area-based insulation and ventilation upgrades, reforms to fix energy pricing and targeted financial help for households struggling with their bills. Without these safeguards, we risk wasting public money, damaging public trust, and leaving millions stuck in fuel poverty.”

Hot weather stats expose crisis of summer fuel poverty

The Met Office have confirmed that 2025 has seen the hottest UK summer on record. With overheating in homes making people ill, we are now seeing fuel poverty as a year-round potential health issue.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“This has been the hottest summer on record and for millions living in fuel poverty, that heat has been dangerous.

“Too many households are trapped in homes that overheat, with poor ventilation, no cooling and energy bills that are so high that people feel unable to run a fan.

“The reality is that fuel poverty doesn’t end in winter. Overheating is making people ill and tragically it can cost lives.

“We urgently need fairer electricity pricing, targeted support for those most at risk and the Government’s Warm Homes Plan must also deliver solutions that help keep homes cool in the summer.

“The Met Office predicts that with the climate crisis continuing, heatwaves will become more common and more severe. This means that the UK’s housing and energy systems must adapt – or more people will suffer every summer.”

Politicians must face the geological reality of the North Sea

Media reports suggest that the Conservative Party will formally join Reform in pushing for more oil and gas extraction from the North Sea.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“The reality is that of all the gas estimated to have been in the North Sea basin, just 14% remains commercially viable according to official statistics.

“Data also show that by 2027, UK gas production is set to fall short of what’s needed just to heat our homes, which currently accounts for 38% of UK gas use. In just two years’ time, more than two-thirds of the UK’s gas needs will be dependent on imports.

“Even if new fields are approved, it won’t be enough to reverse the trend and the UK would still be almost entirely (94%) reliant on imports by 2050.

“Politicians need to heed the clear warning that the North Sea is running out of gas and over reliance on it is a threat to energy security. This has nothing to do with politics or policy — it’s the geological reality after half a century of drilling.”