Octopus Energy’s boss has given customers an update on plans to introduce zero standing charge tariffs next year following new rules which were announced by regulator Ofgem.

CEO of Octopus Energy Greg Jackson appeared on The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV1 on Tuesday where he spoke to the Money Saving Expert founder about upcoming changes to bills set to take effect in 2026.

Earlier this year, Ofgem launched a consultation into zero standing charge tariffs, following years of campaigning by the likes of Martin Lewis, who has called it a ‘moral hazard’ which regressively punishes low energy users in particular.

Ofgem said in its plans that energy suppliers like Octopus and other firms will be required to offer customers ‘at least one tariff with lower standing charges in all regions in England, Scotland and Wales’.

On Tuesday’s ITV show, Martin read a question to the energy chief about standing charges, which said: “We know there’s going to be Ofgem rules that companies have to have low or no standing charge tariffs offered, coming in in the spring. Will Octopus have a no standing charge tariff in 2026?”

Mr Jackson then replied with an update explaining that it’s very much still up in the air, and pointed out the problem with it from Octopus’ perspective

He 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.”

Martin then added: “Which is why I would complain it wasn’t within the price cap because there’s no price regulation on the unit rates but that’s getting a bit too complicated for the audience, I suspect.”

In October, Ofgem launched a consultation into its latest plans for a zero standing charge tariff.

It said: “In February 2025, we considered introducing a zero standing charge variant within the energy price cap.

“We also undertook domestic consumer research and an online behavioural experiment. This was to understand consumers’ attitudes towards standing charges. Through this, we identified that they wanted more control over how they pay for their energy costs.

“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.”