Octopus Energy boss speaks about standing charges in BBC video

BBC News has published a video in which the boss of Octopus Energy speaks about standing charges. The clip was published on 28 October 2026.

Standing charges are the fixed daily amount on an energy bill, which households pay whatever gas or electricity they use. Greg Jackson is the founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy Group. Octopus has also published a blog post titled "Who's really in charge of standing charges?", written by Maddie Inglis, on the subject. Octopus Energy

The company has also said how it has tried to keep bills down. Up to August 2026, it said it had spent £185 million holding prices cheaper, a sum that included discounting standing charges. Octopus Energy

The government has made several moves on household energy costs this year. In July 2026 it announced a cut in value added tax (VAT), the tax added to many goods and services, on household electricity bills, from 5% to 0%. It estimated the cut would lower CPI, the consumer prices index and the main measure of inflation, by around 0.10 percentage points. It estimated the effect on RPI, the retail prices index, at around 0.14 percentage points. GOV.UK

In February 2026, the government said the typical energy bill across the year was expected to be around £1,645, more than £200 lower. It also said its Autumn Budget, the government's tax and spending statement, would take an average of £150 off household energy bills. GOV.UK

For businesses, the government announced in April 2026 that electricity bills would be cut by up to 25% for more than 10,000 businesses. GOV.UK