Martin Lewis has given his early verdict on the Budget after meeting Chancellor John Healey this morning ahead of the Chancellor's speech to Parliament this afternoon.
The MoneySavingExpert founder, who had been in No 11 on the morning of the fiscal statement, summed up his feelings on plans to axe standing charges from gas as "pleased".
Gas Standing Charges to Be Scrapped
Mr Lewis said on X: "I've just come out of a meeting with the Chancellor.
"The gas standing charge will be scrapped in 2027 (my guess, either for 1 Oct price cap or the 1 Jan 28 price cap).
"Having campaigned against the moral hazard of standing charges for years, I'm pleased.
"It's currently £108 a year. That cost will be shifted onto unit rates. We don't know how much yet, but I suspect just under 1p per kwH.
"The Chancellor also said he will be talking to Ofgem about how they get rid of the charge on electricity as well, but that is 'trickier' apparently and will take longer."
Impact on Households
Mr Lewis said "about 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more", with the dividing line "somewhere around 12,500 kilowatt hours of gas," as he called for support for vulnerable higher users who will have to pay more.
The standing charge is the daily amount paid on bills to have a gas or electricity supply. Currently 29p per day in the October 1 price cap, it means even low energy users are paying £108 a year before they have even used any gas, and can't reduce the amount by using less.
Further Intervention Expected
Mr Lewis said: "That's all long-term. The biggest issue in energy right now is that we're expecting a 27% rise in the price cap in January.
"I asked the Chancellor whether he will be intervening on that. He told me I'd have to wait for the Budget, but reading between the lines, yes, there will be an announcement today.
"Whether it's an increase in the warm home discount, or whether it's council tax (band-related), or whether it's done via a payout for people in say council tax bands A-D as a proxy for household income as Rishi Sunak did who knows."
