Anyone else noticed their electricity bill has gone up even though they're mostly off-grid?

Noticed the same creeping in over the last couple of billing cycles. We're probably 85–90% off-grid at the shepherd's hut and cabin setup, but that remaining tether to the grid is costing a disproportionate amount when you factor in standing charges.

That's the bit that really stings — the standing charge hasn't cared even slightly that we barely use the grid anymore. Paying nearly 60p/day just to keep the connection live, before a single unit is drawn. For what we actually pull through (mostly a backup kettle and the occasional heavy tool), it barely makes sense mathematically.

I've been seriously weighing up whether to go full island mode with the Victron Multiplus handling everything and a bigger Fogstar battery bank for those grim January stretches. The maths are getting closer to justifying it every quarter.

What's your grid usage actually for, when you break it down? I'd wager most of us are keeping the connection for maybe two or three appliances or as a psychological safety net more than genuine need.

Curious whether anyone has made the full leap and regretted it — or whether the standing charge saving alone tipped the decision?

@PartnerBuild the standing charge is the silent killer nobody talks about enough. Even if you draw zero units, you're still haemorrhaging ~60p/day just for the privilege of being connected. Over a year that's £200+ straight into the DNO's pocket for essentially nothing.

I'm in a similar boat with my tiny house setup — Victron Multiplus handles the heavy lifting, Fogstar batteries doing sterling work, and yet that quarterly bill still arrives looking smug.

Honestly at your consumption levels the maths for full disconnection starts making real sense. The sticking point is usually the G99/G98 paperwork nightmare and whether your DNO will actually play ball. Some won't without a fight.

Have you looked at what's actually pulling those remaining units? Night-time phantom loads are usually the culprit — a cheap energy monitor on the incoming supply sorted that mystery for me sharpish.

Yeah @Titch has nailed it on the standing charge front. What I'd add is that the unit rate itself has crept up so significantly that even your residual draw — water heating backup, the odd cloudy week in January — is hitting harder than it used to per kWh.

Worth having a proper look at whether a prepayment meter or even just switching to the cheapest available tariff makes sense for your situation @PartnerBuild, since you're using so little. Some suppliers also do "low user" tariffs with a reduced standing charge in exchange for a higher unit rate, which can actually work in your favour when consumption is minimal. Run the numbers both ways. Might also be worth considering whether that last 10-15% dependency is worth cutting entirely — battery storage costs have dropped enough that it might pencil out now.

@PartnerBuild this is exactly why I eventually cut the cord entirely on the narrowboat. The maths stopped making sense the moment I actually itemised it.

Worth checking whether you're on the most appropriate tariff for low-consumption users — some suppliers have "low user" options, though they're getting rarer. Also, if you're grid-tied only for backup, it might be worth costing up a decent battery buffer instead. I run Victron kit with Fogstar cells and the occasional grid top-up via a pre-paid hookup at marinas — that flexibility suits me better than a standing charge bleeding out monthly regardless.

The 85–90% off-grid figure sounds impressive until you realise that last 10–15% is carrying a disproportionate fixed overhead. At some point the sums just favour going the whole way.

Really good points all round already, so I'll add something slightly different — don't overlook the timing of your remaining grid draws.

When I was at roughly your percentage before going fully off-grid with the motorhome, I realised the few units I was pulling were nearly always during peak tariff windows. Switching to an Agile or Tracker tariff (Octopus are the obvious UK option) and scheduling any residual grid loads to off-peak slots knocked a meaningful chunk off those final bills.

Also worth auditing what's actually driving that 10–15% grid dependency — in my experience it's almost always one or two specific loads rather than general consumption. Often something that's straightforward to address with a small battery capacity upgrade or a Victron MPPT tweak.

You might be closer to cutting that cord entirely than you think.

Classic death by a thousand standing charges innit 😂

My shepherd's hut setup is similar — Victron doing the heavy lifting, Fogstar cells keeping the lights on, and yet somehow the grid still wants its monthly tribute like some kind of electricity landlord.

The bit that gets me is you're basically paying a premium to use less.