Major energy firm slashes standing charges claiming customers can save up to £100 with its new tracker tariff

STANDING charges have been slashed by a major energy firm that claims customers can save up to £100 with its new tracker tariff.

EDF’s new Simply Tracker Extra Apr26 replaces the previous Mar26 tariff and claims to lower standing charges for most customers.

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EDF has announced a new tracker tariff that can save you up to £100[/caption]

It does so by tracking Standard Variable prices in order to “consistently” undercut Ofgem’s price cap by £100, through a saving of £50 per fuel.

This discount is then applied to any EDF customers through lower standing charges.

It said it chose to reduce the standing charges, rather than its unit rates, in order to ensure that “all customers benefit equally from predictable cost savings.”

Standing charges are fixed daily charges placed on an customer’s bill and they cover the cost of supplying electricity and gas to homes.

Their prices are set by your energy supplier, based on energy network maintenance costs, operational costs such as metering and billing, and costs from the government for energy and related social and environmental policy schemes.

Crucially, the price of standing charges does not change on your energy bill depending on how much energy you use in a day.

If you have an Eco20:20 tariff standing charges paid by direct debit average out to 60.34p daily for electricity, with a standard gas meter’s charges averaging out to 31.42p per day.

However, these rates vary depending on where you live, as well as how you pay your bill and the type of meter you have.

For example, the daily standing charge for someone living in London paying with a direct debit and using an Eco20:20 tariff are just 40.76p compared to 67.93p in the South West.

Standing charges have come under fire following rises in energy unit costs, with campaigners arguing it unfairly targets those who have lowered their usage but still have to fork out high standing charges.

EDF has said all customers that sign up to the new tariff will see the same financial benefit, even if they are low energy consumers or have a Pay As You Go meter.

Rich Hughes, director of retail at EDF, said: “With our new tracker tariff, customers can rest assured that no matter what happens with energy prices over the next year, they will always save £100 against the price cap.

“By discounting standing charges, the tariff also ensures all customers benefit equally from predictable cost savings, while supporting those that are already taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency.”

Based on the January 1 price cap, EDF claims the new tariff offers an annual average bill cost of just £1,638 for a dual fuel customer paying with direct debit, with exit fees of £25 per fuel.

This makes it the cheapest tracker tariff currently on the market.

Uswitch energy expert Will Owen said: “It’s unusual for such well-priced deals to be available and we believe that households may have a relatively short window of opportunity to grab one before they disappear.

“EDF’s Simply Tracker Extra tariff is a rare chance to guarantee a saving of £100 against the price cap over 12 months, whether it rises or falls.

“This deal is also a great choice for smaller households as the discount applies to standing charges, so if you use less energy you’ll save more proportionally.”

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Shopping around can help you save on your energy bills[/caption]