Gas Standing Charges to Be Scrapped for Millions of Homes

This policy shift expects to save approximately 60% of households an average of £45 annually. The government also indicated targeted mitigation measures for households potentially adversely impacted by this transition.

John Healey confirmed gas standing charges are "unfair and outdated so I am scrapping them to give millions of households a bit of breathing space." He added, "My Budget will draw a line in the sand on an energy policy that has failed British billpayers for years, letting extra costs on bills pile high and leaving households even more exposed to global shocks."

Andy Burnham echoed this sentiment, stating, "Abolishing gas standing charges is about basic fairness and giving people more control over their bills. I am determined to reform our broken energy market, so it better serves the public interest." The Prime Minister also spoke of reforming a "broken" energy market to better serve households.

The Chancellor delivers his first budget today. He met with Martin Lewis at No. 11 on Wednesday. The budget also expects to announce plans to move green levies from energy bills to general taxation.

The government previously implemented a VAT cut on electricity bills. It approved the Jackdaw gasfield and announced a new energy wealth fund. These actions come as international market turmoil, caused by the Iran war, worsened the domestic economic situation.

However, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition claims millions of households will not see a saving from the proposal to remove standing charges from gas bills. The group suggests moving levies off electricity bills and into general taxation would be a positive step.