EDF, E.on and Octopus Energy launch limited trials of 'low Standing Charge' tariffs

Energy regulator Ofgem announced the trials back in February, saying they'd start "from April" this year. British Gas, which is also due to take part, is yet to launch its version.

Standing Charges – which you pay just for the facility of having gas and electricity, even if you don't use any – currently make up around £315 of the average annual energy bill.

MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis says he gets more complaints about Standing Charges than anything else relating to energy bills – and we've long campaigned to get them lowered.

Don't assume 'low Standing Charge' means cheap

All three of these new experimental tariffs have lower daily Standing Charges, but the unit rates vary.

The new tariffs from E.on and Octopus have higher rates for each unit of energy you use. That means they're most likely to work for very low-use households – where Standing Charges make up a higher proportion of the total bill. Medium and higher users could end up paying more overall.

EDF's tariff, on the other hand, can have different electricity unit rates at different times of day, intended to help you "pay less outside peak hours" – but the flip side is it can be much more expensive at busy times (we've more on this below).

How the new trials work in practice

While the idea behind them is similar, suppliers have taken different approaches to their trials:

• EDF's trial is the most widely available and has no exit fees, but you'll need to shift when you use energy to benefit. That's because EDF has linked it to its existing 'FreePhase' time-of-use tariffs. These charge different electricity rates at different times of day (either changing daily or fixed for a year), meaning you would need to carefully monitor and adjust your energy usage to avoid paying the more expensive peak rates.
  
  EDF says its trial cuts the Standing Charge by £6.25 a month per fuel (£150 a year for dual fuel), while unit rates will stay the same as they are for current FreePhase customers. You'll need a smart meter and to pay by Direct Debit, and you can join as a new or existing customer.

• E.on's trial is a simpler fixed deal – but it's extremely limited, with a long contract. It's a 24-month fixed tariff with £100-per-fuel exit fees. It's based on an existing E.on fix from earlier this year, but with the Standing Charges cut by £150 a year for dual fuel users, and unit rates increased by around 3.5p per unit for electricity and 1p per unit for gas.
  
  E.on says those using under 1,800kWh electricity and 7,500kWh gas a year would pay less versus the baseline fix (for reference, an average household with two to three people in it uses 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year, according to Ofgem).
  
  The tariff will only be available to a randomly selected 25,000 existing customers – E.on says you'll be offered the tariff directly if you're able to take part. If you are selected, only consider it after doing a full comparison to make sure it beats other options, not just E.on's own deals.

• Octopus's trial is also a fixed deal, but with a shorter contract. Here, you'll only be locked in for one year, with £50-per-fuel exit fees. Standing Charges will be £150 a year lower for dual fuel users, with unit rates increased – and Octopus warns that these higher rates can "quickly swallow up the Standing Charge savings". It says that, in general, you'll only save if you use under 1,800kWh electricity and/or 7,500kWh gas a year – the same as under E.on's trial.
  
  The tariff will only be made available to 33,000 households on a first-come, first-served basis, but it's open to new AND existing Octopus customers. To be eligible, you'll need to use at least 666kWh of electricity and/or 2,836kWh of gas per year – and if you've the option to enrol, you'll see the tariff when you go to sign up or switch tariffs online.

The easiest way for many to save is to get off the Energy Price Cap

Most people in England, Scotland and Wales saw their energy costs rise by an average 13% last week. That's because if you're among the 60% of homes on your firm's standard (not fixed or special) tariff, then your rates follow Ofgem's Price Cap. That Cap moves every three months, with 1 July 2026 being the latest change.

Right now, the cheapest fixes are on average 15% or more below the current Cap. The current predictions are that October's Cap will stay at a similar level. Then, while it becomes more crystal ball gazing after that, not many expect it to drop much in January – so if you lock in a cheap fix now, you're likely to save over the next year.

Timeline of plans to lower Standing Charges

Ofgem had previously promised that a 'low or no Standing Charge' tariff would be introduced across all firms by the end of January 2026. Once it became clear that Ofgem would not hit that deadline, Martin said it felt "like a series of over-promises and under-deliveries", adding that the regulator's plans had been "diluted more than a shot of Vimto in a bath".

See the full timeline of plans to lower Standing Charges below:

• In December 2024, Ofgem proposed requiring suppliers to offer a 'low or no Standing Charge' option, which would have been controlled by the Energy Price Cap.

• In February 2025, Ofgem began its first consultation on the details.

• In July 2025, Ofgem rowed back on these initial plans, and said it was looking at whether suppliers should offer low or no Standing Charge tariffs that AREN'T covered by the Price Cap. At the time, it said it expected to see the new tariffs being offered from January 2026.

• In September 2025, Ofgem confirmed that all major energy suppliers should offer at least one low Standing Charge tariff to households – and that these wouldn't fall under the Price Cap. Its press release reiterated that the tariffs "would be available to customers in every region of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) by January 2026".

• In November 2025, Martin grilled Ofgem boss Jonathan Brearley over the issue on a special instalment of The Martin Lewis Podcast.

• In February 2026, the Government separately confirmed that Standing Charges will fall by £39 a year on average from 1 April 2026 due to transferring the cost of funding the Warm Home Discount scheme to unit rates instead. Martin welcomed the news, but warned that more needed to be done.

• Later that same month, Ofgem confirmed that British Gas, EDF, E.on and Octopus would introduce trial 'low or no Standing Charge' tariffs this year, saying it expected them to go live from April 2026.

• In June 2026, while giving evidence to a cross-party committee of MPs, Martin criticised the lack of progress that's been made on these trial tariffs – while also reminding the committee that several other plans had previously fallen through.