Andy Burnham proposes removing standing charges from gas bills
Current overview (not historical)
Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has proposed removing standing charges from gas bills, which are fixed daily fees covering supply connection costs. Energy UK states that reallocating these charges would determine their impact on bills, while a research foundation argues the move would help low-income households, saving approximately £27 annually. Burnham also linked the proposal to approving the Jackdaw gas field, suggesting it would support renewable energy investment to lower bills. No practical details on implementation have been provided.
Written with AI from the reporting · updated 10/21/2026
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- 1Unclassified fact stationOct 22, 00:00recorded Oct 22, 01:45single sourcerevised
Burnham proposes plan to cut standing charges from gas bills
Read original source ↗ BBC BusinessReplay this moment in the explorerEvidence & revisions · 1 source records
- Subject：
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham
- Action：
- proposes plan to remove standing charges from gas bills
- Object：
- gas bills
- Occurred (fact side)：
- Oct 22, 00:00
- Published (valid side)：
- Oct 22, 01:06
- First seen (known side)：
- Oct 22, 01:45
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- BBC BusinessRelated fact: single sourceSource report revisedAndy Burnham proposes plan to remove standing charges from gas bills
Report first recorded Oct 22, 01:45
Andy Burnham has asked ministers to develop a plan to remove fixed daily standing charges from gas bills, which are currently paid even when energy is not used. A research foundation argued this progressive move could save a typical annual bill £27 and help low-income households. Nesta suggested moving these costs to the unit rate, external, which would benefit low gas users but potentially penalize heavy users. Average daily gas standing charges are 29.7p, while electricity charges average 54.8p, and Ofgem is currently running a pilot scheme on low standing charge tariffs.
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