Gas Standing Charge Calculator 2027
Gas standing charges are being removed. The cost is not being removed with them — it moves onto the price you pay for each unit of gas. So this is a transfer, not a cut, and whether you end up better or worse off comes down to a single number: how much gas you actually burn. Put it in below and see which side of the line you fall on. No signup.
Standing charge and unit rate taken from Ofgem's price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026. The removal was confirmed by the Treasury on 28 October 2026.
The standing charge has to be recovered somewhere, so it goes onto the unit rate. This calculator spreads it so that a household using Ofgem's typical 9,500 kWh a year pays the same as before — which is exactly what makes that figure the turning point: use less and you gain, use more and you pay. The actual uplift has not been confirmed and may differ. Your own standing charge and unit rate vary by region, payment method and tariff, so both boxes above are editable. Estimates only, not financial advice.
It is a transfer, not a cut
Ofgem has looked at removing standing charges more than once, and has been clear about what removal can and cannot do: it cannot take the underlying costs out of the system, only move them from one part of the bill to another. Those costs — maintaining the pipes, metering, supplier failures — do not disappear because the line on your bill does.
So the money comes back through the price per unit instead. On Ofgem's cap figures that means roughly a penny more on every kWh, taking the typical gas rate from about 7.97p to about 9.11p. If you use a lot of gas you pay that penny many times over; if you use very little, you were paying £108 a year for the privilege of being connected and now you are not.
Who gains and who pays
The government says around 60% of households would save, by an average of about £45 a year. Nesta, which has modelled this for years, puts the typical dual-fuel saving closer to £27. Both can be true: they are averages over different groups, and the spread matters more than the middle.
The pattern underneath is simple. Lower gas users gain — a flat, home all day, a well-insulated house, somebody who has moved to a heat pump and kept a gas hob. Higher gas users pay more — a large or draughty house, a big family, anyone heating a lot of space with gas. A household with gas and almost no use, such as a second property or a flat where the heating is electric, gains the most of all, because the standing charge was most of what they paid.
What is settled, and what is not
Settled: the charge goes, in 2027 or as soon as possible after, across England, Scotland and Wales. Around 23 million homes are affected. Northern Ireland's market works differently and is not included yet.
Not settled: exactly when, which tariffs and payment methods it covers — prepayment and fixed deals included — and what the promised support for the households that lose out will look like. Electricity standing charges stay for now, with reform plans expected next year. The energy price cap itself is unchanged and continues as normal.
Frequently asked questions
Does scrapping the gas standing charge save you money?
How much is the gas standing charge?
When will gas standing charges be scrapped?
Will the energy price cap be scrapped too?
I heat with oil, LPG or electricity and have no gas — do I benefit?
What about electricity standing charges?
I have a prepayment meter or a fixed deal — does this apply to me?
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