CLA Energy Services: Manage increased standing charges

Your energy usage has barely changed but your bills have surged. Many CLA members will be reaching the end of fixed energy contracts and are now facing standing charge increases of around 60%, despite using the same amount of energy.

You want to focus on running your farm or rural business without worrying about ever-increasing bills. We have come practical steps some businesses can take to reduce these costs.

A standing charge is a fixed daily cost on your energy bill, regardless of your usage. Electricity and gas bills come with separate standing charges.

If your standing charge is £5 per day, it doesn't matter whether you're planting, harvesting or not using a single kWh of electricity that day - you'll still pay £5. Every day. There is no cap on standing charges and prices are soaring.

Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) costs are added to domestic and business energy bills to pay for upgrading and maintaining Britain’s electricity network.

Until 2022, these costs were largely recovered through the unit price of electricity. Following Ofgem's Targeted Charging Review (TCR), they were moved into fixed standing charges instead.

Total TNUoS revenue stood at £5bn in 2025/26, according to the National Energy System Operator (NESO).

From April 2026, TNUoS revenues were projected to rise 53% to £7.7bn in 2026/27 and £13.6bn by 2030/31.

Crucially, there is uncertainty as to how far and how fast these charges need to rise to pay for extensive upgrades to the grid required to meet net zero targets.

CLA members still on fixed energy contracts prior to April 2026 are yet to feel the effects, but when their renewal is due, they can expect significantly higher standing charges unless they act decisively.

Businesses are placed into charging bands based on consumption for non-half hourly meters or capacity (kVA) for half hourly customers. You can't negotiate the standing charge itself, but making changes to lower your charging band could reduce your costs.

CLA members on non-half hourly meters can reduce their standing charges by reducing their consumption from the grid, while those on half hourly meters must negotiate a lower kVA with their local distributor.

kVA is the limit for how much power you can take from the grid at any given moment. For example, a business peaking at 160 kVA may only need a 200 kVA capacity.

However, many businesses find themselves spending more than necessary on a much higher kVA than they need. Reducing your capacity to a more suitable level could lead to direct savings and reduce your standing charge band in one go.

CLA Energy Services regularly hear concerns from CLA members about their standing charges. We have already helped numerous farms and rural businesses reduce their costs.

One business approached us on a half hourly connection with their kVA set at 500.

We identified unusually high fixed charges, with the business placed in Charging Band 2. Combined standing charges and kVA costs totalled £40,057.33 per year, including a standing charge of £86 per day.

Our analysis showed the business could operate with a much lower capacity of 250 kVA. This moved the site into Charging Band 1, halved its kVA costs and reduced the standing charge to £28 per day.

Together, the revised standing charges and kVA costs fell to £14,580.87 per year, saving the business more than £25,000 annually.

CLA Energy Services help rural businesses like yours make smart decisions that lead to real change. We can review your standing charges, assess your kVA and identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary costs.

Call us on 0808 164 6151 or email us at energyservices@cla.org.uk. Please have your CLA membership number to hand.