Ofgem confirmed the April 2026 price cap on 25 February. The headline number — typical household bills falling £117 a year — sounds positive. But underneath that, your electricity standing charge is going UP by 2.5p per day to 57.2p per day, while gas standing charges fall by 5.0p per day.
That matters because standing charges are flat — you pay them whether you use any electricity or not. For low-consumption households, the impact of the rise is bigger than the headline saving. Worth a few small electrical changes to claw back some of that.
Why the Standing Charge Is Going Up
Two things changed in April 2026. First, costs related to the Warm Home Discount have shifted from standing charges to the unit rate, which actually decreases standing charges for low-energy users — but only on gas. Second, network costs have increased by £66 a year because of the current price control framework (RIIO-3). That's landed on the electricity side.
The net effect: high consumers benefit slightly from the unit-rate shift on gas; low consumers on electricity slightly worse off because of the standing charge rise.
5 Practical Things to Do
Full LED swap-out. If you're still on halogens or compact fluorescents anywhere in the house, this is the single fastest payback. A modern LED downlight uses 6-9W vs 50W for a halogen — that's an 85% reduction. Across a kitchen with 12 downlights, you'll typically save £80-£120/year. I can do a full house LED conversion in a day for most 3-bed properties.
Replace an old immersion heater timer. Most homes still have a basic mechanical timer on the immersion heater. Swap it for a smart timer or a 7-day digital timer that runs only during the cheap overnight rate (Economy 7) or when solar is generating. Saves £50-£200/year depending on usage.
Smart meter — if you don't already have one. This isn't electrical work I do, but it's worth saying: you can't get on a time-of-use tariff (which is what makes EV charging and heat pumps cheap) without a smart meter. Ask your supplier for one.
EV charger if you've got an EV (or are getting one). Off-peak EV tariffs charge as low as 7p/kWh vs 27p/kWh on the standard rate. Charging a typical 60kWh EV overnight costs £4 instead of £16 — that's £600+ a year saved if you do 6,000 miles. The grant is now £500 (from April), see my other post on this.
Sort the consumer unit. If yours is more than 15 years old, it's probably a pre-RCD design, which means none of your circuits have proper earth-leakage protection. Modern 18th edition consumer units have RCD protection on every circuit, which both improves safety AND reduces nuisance trips that often happen when older boards are overloaded. From £500.
What I'd Do First If My Bill Was Too High
Honestly, the LED swap is the no-brainer. Two hours of an electrician's time, low up-front cost, and the saving lasts decades. After that, the immersion timer change is the next quick win. Heat pumps and solar are the bigger conversations — see the other posts on those.
I cover Pinner, Hemel Hempstead, Harrow, Watford, Northwood, Eastcote, Ruislip, Edgware and the surrounding area. Fixed prices, no surprises. Call 07405 629 940 if you want a chat about what would help most for your specific setup.