Annual cost of standing charges across utilities regardless of usage.

Standing charges are the fixed daily fee you pay for being connected to a utility — regardless of how much you use. Typical 2026 rates: electricity 50-70p/day (180-250/year), gas 25-35p/day (90-130/year), water has varying structure (some fixed, some volume-based).

Annual total across all utilities typically runs 300-500/year in standing charges alone, before any actual consumption. This is the floor of your utility bills — can't reduce by turning off appliances. Matters significantly for low-usage households (pensioners, second homes, holiday properties) where standing charges may exceed consumption charges.

Switching providers can sometimes reduce standing charges, though the unit rate usually matters more for average-usage homes. For very-low-usage customers, paying attention to standing charges becomes important — some tariffs have lower standing charges in exchange for higher unit rates.

What the result means

Annual total is fixed utility cost regardless of consumption. Compare across providers when switching. For very-low-usage homes, this is the main cost to optimise.

Quick example

With electricity standing charge of 0.6 and gas standing charge of 0.3 (plus water standing of 100), the result is 428.50. Change any figure and watch the output shift — it's often more useful to see the pattern than to memorise the formula.

Which inputs matter most

You enter Electricity Standing Charge (daily), Gas Standing Charge (daily), and Water Standing (annual). Not every input has equal weight. Flip one at a time toward extreme values to feel which ones move the needle most for your situation.

What's happening under the hood

Daily standing charges × 365 days + annual water fixed charge. The formula is listed in full below. If the number looks off, you can retrace the calculation by hand — that's the point of showing the working.

Using the result to negotiate

The figure gives you a concrete number to quote when shopping alternatives. "I'm paying £X annually" cuts through marketing in a way "I want a better deal" doesn't. The specificity wins.

What this doesn't capture

Usage varies month-to-month; tariffs change; discounts come and go. The figure here is a clean baseline — your actual annual bill will fluctuate around it. Use the calculation to benchmark providers, not as a prediction of a specific bill.