The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called on the energy regulator Ofgem to ‘take action’ on the standing charges paid by UK small firms.

According to the FSB, many small businesses have seen the daily fixed price they pay soar over recent months, regardless of usage levels.

The FSB stated that it has written to Ofgem’s Chief Executive to alert him to the issue and to ‘recognise the specific negative impact standing charges are having on small firms’.

It also said that small firms located in rural areas have been ‘disproportionately’ affected by standing charge increases, exacerbating the existing rural-urban divide.

Commenting on the issue, Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair at the FSB, said: ‘We want Ofgem to do a thorough review of standing charges for businesses as well as consumers, for better transparency and to discern whether energy companies are behaving fairly towards their small firm clients.

‘Small business energy customers behave in a way more akin to consumers than big businesses, lacking the resources, the expertise and the buying power necessary to get the best possible deal out of their energy suppliers.’