This is an industry-wide change being introduced to help fund major infrastructure and network upgrades, and it will apply to all business-rated energy supplies.
Although your building is residential, the electricity and gas supplies serving communal areas (for lighting, lifts, pumps, plant rooms, and other shared systems) are classed as non-domestic connections under energy industry regulations. This means these supplies are billed on commercial tariffs, not domestic ones, and will therefore be directly affected by the forthcoming standing charge increases.
Electricity standing charges are expected to rise by around 94%, while gas standing charges are forecast to increase by approximately 10–25%, depending on the region and supplier. Because communal (landlord) supplies typically have low consumption but fixed daily costs, this rise will have a more noticeable impact on annual charges and could result in a significant uplift in total energy costs for communal areas from April 2026.
We continue to work closely with our energy brokers to explore ways to mitigate the impact, such as contract reviews, tariff benchmarking, and early renewal opportunities. Further updates will be shared once suppliers confirm their 2026 standing charge schedules.
Source : https://argentpartnership.com/