Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of standing charges on (a) small- and (b) medium-sized businesses.

The standing charge is a fixed charge that suppliers pass on to their customers to cover the cost of providing a live supply. If the standing charge were removed, these costs would be added to the unit price of energy. Otherwise, suppliers would not be able to recover the legitimate costs of serving customers. The standing charge is passed on to consumers as a flat rate per day, rather than as a percentage charge (based on how much energy they use). The setting of the standing charge is a commercial matter for individual suppliers.