The Treasury has confirmed that gas standing charges will be scrapped, turning an earlier ITV News report into announced policy. According to PA, the Treasury said the Chancellor, John Healey, will ask Ofgem to remove the charges for around 23 million homes "in 2027 or as soon as possible after", as reported by the Newham Recorder.
LBC reports that Healey confirmed the change in his Budget statement. In a Treasury statement carried by PA, he said: "Gas standing charges are unfair and outdated so I am scrapping them to give millions of households a bit of breathing space."
The Treasury said ministers will "set out in due course targeted mitigation for a small number of households". Martin Lewis told PA the charge is currently £108 a year and its cost will be shifted onto unit rates. He guessed it would go from either the 1 October 2027 or the 1 January 2028 price cap.
The week before the Budget, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the Commons he had asked Healey and the Energy Secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, to examine abolishing standing charges.
This corrects an earlier post on this blog, which said the gas report went further than the Budget document. The average saving of £45 a year for 60% of households, which ITV News attributed to a Treasury estimate, has still not been independently checked.