Money expert Martin Lewis has issued an update to energy customers over low or no standing charge tariffs set to launch in 2026.

The standing charge is a daily charge for gas and electricity levied by energy companies on customers. Ofgem, the regulator, sets the standing charges for those on a standard price cap variable, and the charge pays for things like customers in debt, companies which go bust and the cost of running the infrastructure.

But Martin Lewis has long campaigned for the standing charges to be abolished after labelling them ‘a moral hazard’. Right now, the Ofgem price cap sets the standing charge at 53.68p per day for electricity and 34.03p per day for gas, which means users are spending over 77p a day, or £23 a month, just to have gas and electricity, even if they don’t actually use any power.

Earlier this year, Ofgem announced that energy firms would be required to offer a no standing charge tariff aimed at low use customers who could save money by not having to pay the standing charge, even if their unit prices were slightly higher. 

Following months of anticipation, Martin Lewis’ viewers are still asking how it’s going to work exactly and when it will launch.

During The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV1 on Thursday, November 25, viewer Phil asked: “Is it best waiting to see if the standing charges come down in the spring?”

Martin then replied: “Standing charges aren’t coming down in the spring on the price cap. What’s happening in the spring is that the regulator has said that firms will have to offer a low or no standing charge switchable deal.

“You may want to wait, but we just don’t have a clue at what rate they’re going to offer those and how much they’re gonna charge on the others so you might want to go in for this low user option now.

“I simply don’t have the data to be able to answer that properly I’m afraid.”

Later in the episode, Octopus Energy CEO Greg Jackson took reader questions from Martin, one of which addressed the standing charges.

Asked whether Octopus will have a no standing charge tariff for 2026, Mr Jackson said: “I don’t know yet. We’re working on it.

“I think these go back to fixed cost problems because the day that you switch to us, we get charged essentially, over the next year we will get £200 of fixed costs even if you use no power, and the question for energy companies is, obviously if everyone is costing you £200, and not spending anything, companies wouldn’t survive.

“So first of all, we will do what we can, but my worry is people will have very high unit rates, to recoup that money, and it will end up being not good value for most people.”

In October, Ofgem launched a consultation into its latest plans for a zero standing charge tariff. It said: “We are now proposing a different approach to the ‘zero standing charge price cap variant’. Under this new proposal, energy suppliers are required to offer customers at least one tariff with lower standing charges in all regions in England, Scotland and Wales. 

“This approach should give more flexibility to allow suppliers to recover their costs while providing consumers with more choice.

“We would make this a requirement under the standard licence conditions. They would also need to clearly explain what the tariff rates and charges are to their customers so they can make informed decisions.”