lookinto.co.uk Research
Published 18 July 2026. Analysis by the lookinto.co.uk Research team. Free to cite with attribution.
Before a British household uses a single unit of gas or electricity, it now pays an average of £315 a year in standing charges. Where you live decides how much: under the July to September 2026 price cap, a household in Merseyside and North Wales pays £366 a year in standing charges while an identical household in London pays £271, a postcode penalty of almost £95 a year for the same wires and pipes. We compiled the regional data to show exactly who pays what.
Six things our analysis found
- There is a £95-a-year postcode penalty. Combined daily standing charges range from 74.30p in London to 100.18p in Merseyside and North Wales. Over a year that is £271.20 against £365.66, a £94.46 gap before either household has boiled a kettle.
- The lottery is almost entirely an electricity story. Gas standing charges barely vary, from 28.53p to 29.52p a day across all fourteen regions, a spread of under £4 a year. Electricity ranges from 44.78p (London) to 70.76p (Merseyside & North Wales), a £94.83 annual gap driven by regional distribution network charges.
- Standing charges have more than doubled on electricity since 2021. The electricity standing charge has climbed from 24.89p a day in October 2021 to 57.19p today, up 130%. Combined charges rose from about £186 to £315 a year, an extra £129.
- The lowest users pay the highest share. Standing charges make up 17% of a typical dual-fuel bill, but for the lowest-consuming quarter of households they are 32% or more of the electricity bill, which is why campaigners call them a poll tax on energy.
- Payment method still matters. Standard credit customers pay the highest standing charges, 65.74p a day for electricity and 36.69p for gas. Prepayment standing charges now match direct debit, funded by a levelisation charge on direct debit customers.
- Reform has arrived, but only as a pilot. After years of pressure, Ofgem’s lower-standing-charge tariff pilot launched in June 2026 with EDF, E.ON, Octopus and British Gas. Pilot customers pay about £150 a year less in standing charges in exchange for higher unit rates, so it only pays off for low users.
Standing charges by region, July to September 2026
Direct debit rates under the Ofgem price cap, including VAT, ranked from cheapest to dearest combined charge. Annual figures are the daily charge multiplied by 365, calculated by lookinto.co.uk Research.
| Region | Electricity p/day | Gas p/day | Combined p/day | Combined £/year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 44.78 | 29.52 | 74.30 | £271.20 |
| North West | 47.61 | 29.17 | 76.78 | £280.25 |
| Southern | 49.70 | 28.53 | 78.23 | £285.54 |
| East Midlands | 53.60 | 28.78 | 82.38 | £300.69 |
| Eastern | 53.94 | 28.70 | 82.64 | £301.64 |
| South East | 54.45 | 28.63 | 83.08 | £303.24 |
| South West | 57.89 | 28.68 | 86.57 | £315.98 |
| Northern Scotland | 57.55 | 29.22 | 86.77 | £316.71 |
| South Wales | 57.84 | 29.30 | 87.14 | £318.06 |
| West Midlands | 59.71 | 29.06 | 88.77 | £324.01 |
| Southern Scotland | 64.17 | 29.24 | 93.41 | £340.95 |
| North East | 64.29 | 29.15 | 93.44 | £341.06 |
| Yorkshire | 64.38 | 29.12 | 93.50 | £341.28 |
| Merseyside & North Wales | 70.76 | 29.42 | 100.18 | £365.66 |
| GB average | 57.19 | 29.04 | 86.23 | £314.74 |
Regions are the fourteen GB electricity distribution areas used by the price cap. Ofgem’s GB average is weighted by customer numbers, so it is not a simple mean of the fourteen regions.
Why your postcode changes the price
Ofgem sets a separate cap for each of the fourteen distribution regions because the cost of running the local network differs: how many people live there, how much energy the region uses, and what it costs to build and maintain the wires. Nearly 60% of the electricity standing charge is network costs, and the transmission element alone rose about 9p a day in April 2026 to fund grid investment. Gas network costs, by contrast, are recovered through the unit rate, which is why gas standing charges are nearly flat across the country.
The steep rise since 2021 has specific causes. Electricity standing charges jumped more than 80% in April 2022, largely to recover the cost of some 30 to 40 supplier failures during the 2021-22 energy crisis, then rose again in 2023 and 2024 as transmission costs were shifted from unit rates into standing charges. The House of Commons Library notes network elements of the standing charge reached their highest-ever cap level in April 2026.
The campaign, and what is actually changing
Martin Lewis has called standing charges a “£300-plus-a-year energy poll tax” that punishes low users, and Ofgem’s first consultation drew tens of thousands of responses, an unprecedented number for the regulator. The outcome so far is smaller than campaigners wanted: a one-year pilot of lower-standing-charge tariffs, launched June 2026 through EDF, E.ON, Octopus and British Gas, offering roughly £150 a year off standing charges in exchange for higher unit rates. If you use little energy, perhaps a gas boiler that runs only in winter, the maths can work in your favour; heavy users will pay more overall.
Standing charges are one reason cutting usage alone can’t shrink a bill below a floor of about £315 a year. For what heating itself costs, see our UK Heating Cost Index, and for ways to cut the biggest lines on the bill, our energy hub covers solar, heat pumps and boiler replacement with free quotes.
This research is free to reproduce for editorial and educational use, with a credit and link to lookinto.co.uk. Suggested citation:
lookinto.co.uk Research (2026), UK Standing Charge Postcode Report. https://lookinto.co.uk/energy/uk-standing-charge-postcode-report/
Journalists and researchers: for the full regional dataset or a comment, contact us through the site. Figures may be quoted directly.
Methodology and sources
This analysis brings together published price cap data in a single comparative framework; we did not collect new pricing data. Regional standing charges are the Ofgem price cap rates for 1 July to 30 September 2026, direct debit, including VAT, as published in Ofgem’s regional cap tables and compiled by MoneySavingExpert, cross-checked figure by figure against a second independent compilation. GB averages, the 13% cap rise and payment-method rates were verified directly against Ofgem’s announcement of 27 May 2026. Annual figures are the daily charge multiplied by 365, calculated by lookinto.co.uk Research. Historical 2021 standing charges are from published price cap histories, and the trend, causes and bill-share figures are from the House of Commons Library briefing, Energy standing charges (CBP-10339, 2026). Pilot tariff details are from Ofgem’s Lower standing charge tariffs: next steps, updated June 2026. The cap changes quarterly; figures above apply to the July to September 2026 period, and the next cap will be announced by 26 August 2026.
FAQ
What is a standing charge?
A fixed daily amount you pay for gas and electricity regardless of how much you use. It covers network costs, supplier operating costs and policy costs. Under the July-September 2026 cap it averages 57.19p a day for electricity and 29.04p for gas, about £315 a year combined.
Which region pays the highest standing charges?
Merseyside and North Wales, at 100.18p a day combined, or £365.66 a year. London pays the least at 74.30p a day, £271.20 a year. The gap is almost entirely down to electricity distribution network costs.
Can you avoid standing charges?
Not under the price cap, but from June 2026 Ofgem is piloting lower-standing-charge tariffs through EDF, E.ON, Octopus and British Gas, cutting standing charges by about £150 a year in exchange for higher unit rates. These suit low users; heavy users will usually pay more overall.
Sources
Cap levels and averages: Ofgem, price cap 1 July to 30 September 2026. Regional rates: MoneySavingExpert regional price cap tables, cross-checked against Ofgem’s published averages. Trend and bill share: House of Commons Library, Energy standing charges (CBP-10339). Reform pilot: Ofgem, Lower standing charge tariffs: next steps. Campaign: MoneySavingExpert (January 2026).