Martin Lewis says households can cut their standing charges (Image: ITVX)
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis is urging households to get £100 off charges which are levied to their energy bills account every day.
The much-hated standing charge applies a fee to your energy account every day for and .
The charge is billed to you even on days you don’t use any power at all, and is simply a charge for having gas or electricity at your property.
The standing charges cover the cost of companies which have gone bust as well as the administration of the network, regulator says, but they can cost as much as 60p per fuel per day before you’ve used anything.
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Now, has revealed that there’s a new tariff from EDF Energy which will slash the cost of the standing charges which will be a big money saver for those who are lower users.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV1 and ITVX, Martin revealed that anyone who pays £135 or less per month is likely to save money on EDF Energy’s new tracker tariff.
And if you’re a very low user at £80 a month or less, you will see ‘massive’ savings.
Martin explained: “Really important – cheaper energy standing charges, a new tariff from tracks the price cap, price cap goes up it goes up, price cap goes down it goes down, but with £100 a year lower standing charges.
“Came out yesterday, so if you’re a low user, under roughly £135 a month, this is really good.
“If you’re paying £80 a month this is massive because most of what you’re paying is standing charges.
“Mid to high users, you’re better off buying a cheap fix from a comparison site.”
EDF Energy said about its new deal: “Replacing EDF’s Simply Tracker Mar26 tariff, this new one-year, fixed-term tracker tariff tracks Standard Variable prices to consistently undercut Ofgem’s price cap by £100, offering guaranteed savings of £50 per fuel, with the discount applied through standing charges. Standing charges are fixed daily charges levied on customers’ bills, which cover the cost of supplying electricity and gas to homes.
“By discounting standing charges instead of unit rates, all EDF customers who sign up to EDF’s Simply Tracker Extra tariff will see the same financial benefit, even if they are low energy consumers. The discount is made possible thanks to how EDF buys energy in advance, taking the savings made on energy costs and applying them to standing charges to ensure everyone can benefit.
Rich Hughes, Director of Retail at EDF, said: “With our new tracker tariff, customers can rest assured that no matter what happens with energy prices over the next year, they will always save £100 against the price cap.
“By discounting standing charges, the tariff also ensures all customers benefit equally from predictable cost savings, while supporting those that are already taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency.”