They were heralded as a long awaited revolution in energy bill pricing on their announcement last year but now Martin Lewis has given an update on the hotly anticipated zero standing charge energy tariffs and it’s not good news.
The money expert returned on The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV1 on Tuesday where he gave viewers an update on the situation with the tariffs.
For years, Martin blasted standing charges on bills as a ‘moral hazard’, because they effectively punish low energy users, who are often the poorest and most vulnerable.
Standing charges are a daily charge added to your bill, effectively a charge just for being connected to the grid, and are charged separately on both gas and electricity.
Right now, the standing charge is set at 54.75p per day for electricity and 5.93p per day for gas. It means that any dual fuel household has to pay £18 a month every month even if they haven’t used any power at all.
Then, energy regulator Ofgem announced in February 2025 that it would introduce low or no-standing charge tariffs for customers.
Later in the year, Ofgem then launched a consultation on the plans which would make a zero standing charge tariff mandatory from all energy suppliers, such as British Gas, EDF, EON, Octopus Energy and all other firms.
It said that this would be put in place by January 2026, but that has been and gone and there is still no sign of the zero-standing charge tariffs.
On Tuesday’s show, Martin gave an update on the situation and it’s not positive.
He told viewers: “What happened to Ofgem’s low or no standing charge tariff it promised?
“All firms were supposed to offer these by the end of January, and then they said it would be early 2026. And now…tumbleweeds.”
But a change to the price cap to incorporate the government’s £150 rebate should also see energy bills significantly reduced on the next price cap announcement.
Martin added: “The boss of Ofgem, the big boss, is on the show in two weeks’ time, on the next show, when the price cap is being announced. That is possibly the biggest change we’ve seen to energy in the last three years, energy prices are likely to come down both if you’re on a variable and if you’re on a fix. It’s a must watch on February 24.”
The Martin Lewis Money Show Live February 10 episode is still available to watch via ITVX.
