A customer posting on the OVO community forum has reported that their electricity standing charge rose to 60.31p per day from 1 April 2024, up from 43.39p per day in 2023 and 24.61p per day in 20221. The customer, posting under the name Alizap888, described the increase as "way higher than inflation" and asked why it had happened1.
The thread, opened on 12 April 2024, drew 51 replies1. A forum super user responding under the name Firedog said 60.31p per day is "pretty close to the GB average", but that rates vary from 40p to 72p depending on where a household lives, with some regions seeing the standing charge fall on 1 April and others seeing a significant increase1. The same reply noted that different rates apply to customers paying by Direct Debit and those paying on demand, and that price cap limits do not apply to fixed-rate tariffs1.
Another contributor, posting as BeePee, listed their own dual fuel Economy 7 standing charges, which rose from £135.77 a year in January 2021 to £316.86 a year from April 20241. That poster said their charges matched, or were slightly below, the Ofgem maximum1.
The forum's best answer states that the standing charge is set by Ofgem in the price cap to cover costs other than the cost of fuel1.
"OFGEM ran a review of standing charges earlier this year... The closing date for comments was 19th Jan."
The customer who opened the thread disputed the explanation, saying the increase over two years was 145 per cent while the Ofgem chart suggested a rise of around 50 per cent, and concluding "It must just be OVO"1. Firedog replied that Ofgem's figures are "mandatory limits that no supplier is allowed to exceed" rather than recommendations, and that precise details of payment method, region, dates and rates would be needed to explain the increase1.
| Date | Reported standing charge |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 24.61p per day |
| 2023 | 43.39p per day |
| From 1 April 2024 | 60.31p per day |
Source: OVO Forum customer post1
Why it matters for households
A standing charge is paid every day regardless of how much gas or electricity a home uses, so it is a fixed cost that cannot be reduced by using less1. For a household, a higher daily charge means a larger share of the bill is locked in before any energy is consumed, which reduces the benefit of cutting usage and makes it harder to lower a bill through efficiency alone. The variation between regions reported in the thread, from 40p to 72p per day, means two similar homes on the same tariff type can face materially different fixed costs depending on where they live1. The distinction raised in the thread between capped standard variable tariffs and uncapped fixed-rate tariffs also matters, because the protection of the price cap does not extend to every deal1.
What happens next
Ofgem's review of standing charges closed for comments on 19 January, according to a forum post1. No outcome of that review is reported in the thread.
Sources1 cited
- Massive standing charge inflation- why? | The OVO Forum, forum.ovoenergy.com