Cabinet minister admits gas standing charges could just be added to unit prices – potentially hiking bills for bigger families and pensioners

Net Zero Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is examining whether to remove gas standing charges, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham asked her and Chancellor John Healey to report back on the proposal. Moving the fixed fee into the price per unit could make bills easier to control for many households, but could raise costs for low-income people who use a lot of energy.

Standing charges are daily fees that pay for delivering gas and electricity and maintaining the network, regardless of how much energy a household uses. Fahnbulleh said modelling suggests many low- and middle-income households would pay less if charges moved into unit prices, while some high-use households could lose out and may need taxpayer-funded support. The article also cites forecasts that household bills could rise by almost £300 from January.