Energy supplier Ebico removes zero standing charges deal owing to Ofgem price cap

The change will hit customers on the Ebico Zero tariff – one of the few deals on the market without standing charges – on Thursday 29 November.

Customers will be moved on to Ebico Standard, and will see prices rise by 8.4% on average, adding £98/yr to a typical dual-fuel bill.

The supplier is laying the blame on regulator Ofgem’s price cap – which it says makes offering the zero standing charge tariff "no longer commercially viable".

The price cap - which is set to come in this December - will place a limit on what suppliers can charge their customers on standard variable and default fixed tariffs.

You can use our ‘’ comparison to find all deals without a standing charge, or do a via our free Cheap Energy Club to find your cheapest overall.  

What is a standing charge?

Standing charges cover the costs of providing gas and electricity to your home - such as the cost of keeping your home connected to grid, meter readings and maintenance.You then pay usages charges - for each kilowatt hour of gas or electricity - on top of this.  

How are prices changing?

The rates you pay for gas and electricity are actually staying the same – Ebico is simply adding a daily standing charge to both fuels.

On average, this adds around £52/year to the electricity bill, and a further £46/year to a customer’s gas bills.

For a typical dual-fuel fuel household, this means prices will rise from £1,161/year to £1,259/year.

How has the price cap affected my tariff?

The way this Zero tariff is set up means that higher users essentially subsidise low users. As there are no standing charges, Ebico's profit comes from the gas and electricity rates. 

So someone using very little energy and paying no standing charge will likely cost Ebico to supply.

Yet someone with very high usage allows it to recoup the costs of supplying low users. It's these higher usage customers, that allow Ebico to offer a zero standing charge tariff to everyone. 

With the price cap – which will limits costs based on your individual usage and region – Ebico believes it will won't be able to recoup the loss of standing charge costs on those higher users.

What can I do?

The Ebico Zero tariff, and the Ebico Standard tariff you’ll soon be rolled on to, have no exit fees, so you’re free to switch away at any point. You’ve got until Thursday 29 November to switch if you want to avoid the higher prices.

The supplier still offers a zero standing charge tariff - called Ebico Zero Green Fixed v2 - though it’s a more expensive fixed tariff. However, it has no exit fees - so it’s largely the same as Ebico Zero, apart from the price.

Ebico said customers who want to move on to the Ebico Zero Green Fixed should use their online account portal and complete the form that is being forwarded to all those currently on the Zero variable plan. There's also a special helpline on 0800 9539597. 

What does Ebico say?

Phil Levermore, Chief Executive of Ebico, explained: "Unfortunately, with the Price Cap coming into force by the end December, it’s no longer commercially viable for us to continue to offer our zero standing charge energy deal as a variable tariff. 

"Instead, we’ve created a 12-month fixed-term zero standing charge deal with no exit fees, called ‘Ebico Zero Green Fixed’, so that customers can continue to take advantage of a great energy plan for those who use relatively small amounts of energy in their home. 

"From the 29th November, the variable plan will have a standing charge added and so will be renamed, ‘Ebico Standard’. Our customers who have already switched to Ebico Zero Green Fixed are not affected by these changes."