Chancellor abolishes standing charges on gas bills to make payments fairer
What was announced
Standing charges from household gas bills will be removed for around 23 million homes.
Key points, in the publisher's words
- Tens of millions of households will no longer pay standing charges on their gas bills as the Government gives families more control over what they pay and some more breathing space.
- A standing charge is a fixed daily fee added on top of a household gas bill, regardless of how much gas has been used. A household could use no gas at all but still must pay the standing charge.
- The Chancellor will announce today an end to this unfair and outdated practice. He will ask Ofgem to deliver removal of these charges – which are £108 a year for the typical household on average – in 2027 or as soon as possible after.
Figures in this announcement
Each line is quoted from the original. Figures are as the publisher stated them on the day.
- “He will ask Ofgem to deliver removal of these charges – which are £108 a year for the typical household on average – in 2027 or as soon as possible after.”
- “Instead, these fixed costs will be paid on the unit rate, which could save 60% of account-holding households around an average of £45 off their annual bill.”
- “It means the Energy Price Cap from October was £45 a year less than it would have been.”
Who and where
People
- Andy Burnham (MP for Makerfield (Labour (Co-op))) · more news
- John Healey (MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough (Labour)) · more news
- Miatta Fahnbulleh (MP for Peckham (Labour (Co-op))) · more news
UK bodies of power
- Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street (UK national body) · more news
- HM Treasury (UK government department) · more news
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (UK government department) · more news
Constituencies of the MPs named: Makerfield, Rawmarsh And Conisbrough, Peckham.
Where this sits in the 10 levels of power
Topics, as GOV.UK files them: Household energy.
Receipt
- Original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-abolishes-standing-charges-on-gas-bills-to-make-payments-fairer
- Published 2026-10-28 09:31:06 UTC
- Read by this site 2026-10-28 09:45:10 UTC from GOV.UK
- Saved copy: receipt 3578, with its SHA-256 fingerprint
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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