UK: standing charges & prepayment explained
What’s actually in your bill beyond the unit rate — compiled August 2026.
Standing charge
57.19p/day (~£209/year) for electricity, national average — varies regionally from ~52p (East Midlands) to ~64p (Merseyside & North Wales)
Source: Ofgem Q3 2026 price cap
Prepayment vs Direct Debit/standard billing
Since April 2024, Ofgem equalised prepayment standing charges/unit rates with Direct Debit under the price cap — prepayment customers should no longer pay more for identical usage, correcting a long-documented “poverty premium.” In practice, self-disconnection risk and no access to some cheaper tariffs remain real downsides of prepayment.
Source: Ofgem decision on adjusting standing charges for prepayment customers, 2024
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