It’s tough enough without a stealth energy tax

AS IF Britons did not have enough on their plates dealing with the cost-of-living crisis. Now we find out that households are being hit with a silent stealth tax on their energy bills.

The standing charges were already relatively high, but have been further increased.

The charges may once have served a reasonable purpose – to pay for everyday maintenance costs. But the skyrocketing fee unfairly hits the poorest, the most vulnerable, the elderly and those who live alone.

The average standing charge has risen this year to a whopping £273. This is a huge sum for many and one that has to be paid regardless of how much energy they use.

Even if you’re desperate to cut back on gas or electricity – or just extremely canny or thrifty with your heating – it makes no difference. You have to pay it.

Few people will even know what standing charges are or where to find them on their bill.

These hidden costs were supposed to pay for the maintenance of the network but, disgracefully, the regulator has also allowed energy firms to use them to fund bailouts for collapsed suppliers.

Has this been communicated to ordinary people? No. Should it have been? Yes – especially when you consider that we’ve seen around 30 energy firms fail in less than two years.

I do not believe it is right for Ofgem to allow increased standing charges for this purpose.

The yearly £273 figure is significant, relative to the energy that a single person uses.

Worse still, ordinary people are having to cope with soaring energy bills at a time when food and other staples are going through the roof.

The last thing they need is this added burden on top.

It would have been almost inconceivable a couple of years ago that people might need to choose between buying food, cooking a hot meal or turning on the heating. But this has too often become the sad reality.

How is it fair that an elderly widow who lives alone pays the same standing charge as a family who live in a mansion with several children? In this instance, the industry regulator, who is supposed to help protect customers, has not dealt with this issue fairly enough. Not only did Ofgem oversee the collapse of the energy market, it is now also allowing suppliers to impose extra costs on consumers by increasing standing charges at a time when households are already struggling.

We need proper transparency, rather than keeping people in the dark about where these charges go.

What value are we getting from this stealth charge?

We call on the energy companies, the Government and Ofgem to sit up and act.