Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps to help end regional differences in domestic energy bills.

Standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, and are regulated by Ofgem, but we know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on them. The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them.

Ofgem’s recently published update on reform of standing charges outlines how it will look to make standing charges fairer for consumers. Ofgem has also committed to consider whether these regional differences should remain or whether there is a different option that would better protect consumers overall.