The standing charge: the electricity cost your EV does not add to
Every GB electricity meter pays a daily standing charge — 57.19p/day on average at the July 2026 Ofgem cap, about £209 a year— whether you charge a car or not. Buying an EV does not raise it by a penny. That cuts both ways: it is not a cost of EV ownership, and because you already pay it, every extra kWh you buy at home spreads the fixed cost over more useful energy.
Prices based on the Ofgem price cap of 26.11 p/kWh, effective 1 July 2026.Source: Ofgem
GB average
57.19p/day
July 2026 price cap
Cheapest region we track
44.2p/day
North West England
Dearest region we track
74.5p/day
Merseyside & North Wales
Standing charges by region (live)
| Region | Standing charge | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| North West England | 44.2p/day | £161 |
| Southern England | 46.3p/day | £169 |
| London | 48.3p/day | £176 |
| East Midlands | 50.2p/day | £183 |
| South Wales | 54.4p/day | £199 |
| Eastern England | 58.4p/day | £213 |
| South East England | 59.0p/day | £215 |
| North Scotland | 61.5p/day | £224 |
| South West England | 62.4p/day | £228 |
| West Midlands | 63.8p/day | £233 |
| South Scotland | 68.0p/day | £248 |
| North East England | 68.4p/day | £250 |
| Yorkshire | 68.5p/day | £250 |
| Merseyside & North Wales | 74.5p/day | £272 |
Octopus standard variable tariff standing charges, fetched live from their public API; the pattern across suppliers follows the same regional network costs.
Why this matters for EV maths
Never count it as an EV running cost
Some anti-EV comparisons quietly load the whole standing charge onto the car’s cost per mile. You paid it before you owned an EV; the honest EV cost is the marginal kWh you buy. Our per-mile figures price exactly that.
Watch it when switching tariffs
EV tariffs sometimes pair a cheap overnight rate with a higher standing charge. On low total consumption, a higher fixed daily fee can eat the unit-rate saving — check both lines of the tariff, not just the headline rate. More in EV tariffs explained.