E.ON Next launches trial of new lower standing charge tariff

E.ON Next has launched a 12-month trial of a new lower standing charge tariff, Next Lower Daily Fixed.

The trial, which aims to offer customers more choice, follows Ofgem’s announcement that suppliers would be required to offer a lower standing charge tariff this year.

Availability of the trial will be limited to a randomised selection of eligible customers, allowing them to understand whether a lower daily standing charge can help them to lower their bills, despite a higher unit rate.

Once the results of the trial are analysed, E.ON Next will share its findings with Ofgem, highlighting any benefit to or impact on its participants. Participants in the trial will be supported by E.ON Next’s team of expert energy specialists, who will advise them on other ways to lower their bills.

E.ON Next is starting the trial with a 24m tariff, but future trial offerings may be on tariffs of different terms, such as shorter fixed tariffs.

For a dual fuel customer switching to the initial trial, Next Lower Daily Fixed 24-month v43, standing charges on will be £150 lower than the baseline product (E.ON Next’s Next Fixed 24-month v43) but unit prices will be higher. On the initial version of the trial tariff, customers using under 1,800kWh of electricity and 7,500kWh of gas per year would pay less than the baseline product.

To be eligible for the trial, existing E.ON Next customers must pay by direct debit and meet a minimum annual consumption threshold of at least 700kWh of electricity and 2,900kWh of gas.

Households switching to the Next Lower Daily Fixed product will be able to monitor their energy spend online through their E.ON Next account dashboard.

Julian Lennertz, Chief Commercial Officer at E.ON Next, said: “Customers want more control over their energy use and bills, and we’re always finding new ways to provide this. Through Next Lower Daily Fixed and alongside Ofgem, we want to understand how a lower standing charge tariff can reshape bills for UK households.

“While we expect lower usage customers who meet the minimum consumption threshold to benefit, our priority is to avoid any impact to higher usage customers, who may be better off on one of our existing tariffs. To make this trial a success, we’ll be closely monitoring its progress and sharing its outcomes with Ofgem.

“Ultimately, this is about giving people more opportunity to decide what type of tariff best suits their circumstances.”

A similar trial carried out by E.ON Next in 2024, highlighted the importance of customers paying attention to their tariff. E.ON Next found that 64% of customers who took part were high consumption customers, who could have been paying less on another fixed product with a higher standing charge and lower unit rate. Nine in ten (90%) of these customers chose to remain on the lower standing charge tariff, despite being told they could be paying less.