British Gas, standard charge?

Posted 16th Feb 2023

Hi folks, only just realised that British Gas add standard charge to my electric and gas bill? Do we have to pay the standard charge amount? I’m confused

14 Comments

sorted by

bozo007
17th Feb
The standing charge is to keep the connection. Every supplier charges it.
Pandamansays
16th Feb
Standard or Standing charge. If the latter, then yes, you have to pay, if the former, you'll probably need to elaborate.
Backinamo
16th Feb
Yes. you cant avoid it unless you are disconnected.
Misslovely
17th Feb
Move to octopus energy. They have a new package called tracker
mtsk
17th Feb
tracker is as old as octopus
Joe90_guy
17th Feb
The standing charges on both electricity & gas are iniquitous & part of the multifaceted money extraction exercise that's being perpetrated on The Great British Public.

If you're struggling to pay & try to minimise your usage, the larger the standing charge becomes as a proportion of your bill. I'm with EDF. I pay 34p/kWh & a standing charge of 43p/day. If I use 6kWh/day, overall I pay 41p/kWh. However if I economise & only use 1kWh/day, then I pay 77p/kWh! The poor get disproportionately whacked.

I filled my car with petrol yesterday. I didn't have to pay Esso a separate 'standing charge' to cover to cost of the oil wells, supertankers, oil refineries & service stations necessary to get that petrol into my tank. That's how it should be with gas & electricity. (edited)
bozo007
17th Feb
I agree that the standing charge has become a floor for the bill. Why should the costs for maintaining a connection jump from 15p per day for dual fuel to almost 85p? We are a low consumption household and always looked for a low standing charge even if the consumption rate was high. Now, the current setup is actually discouraging reducing consumption.
yorkie12
17th Feb
The Standing Charge is supposed to be to pay towards the supply network , like the line rental used to be for telephone lines. These payments have been 'maxed' out by the suppliers as the energy price cap allows this.