Government’s decision to withdraw plans for zonal pricing means consumers will pay less for electricity

Commenting on the Government’s decision not to go ahead with zonal or regional electricity pricing, which would have divided up the UK into different zones, with consumers  paying different rates for the same amount of electricity depending on which zone they live in, RenewableUK’s Executive Director of Policy Ana Musat said:

“This decision is good news for billpayers, in part because the prices set in the Government’s auctions for clean power contracts will be lower than they would have been under the costly zonal pricing regime.

“It will give confidence to private investors that the UK is one of the best markets in the world to build new renewable energy projects, by ending the uncertainty that zonal pricing would have caused.

“It also means that we can deliver more jobs, grow our supply chains in the UK faster and build more clean energy projects and key infrastructure at a lower cost. This will enable us to strengthen our energy security by reducing Britain’s exposure to volatile international gas markets and moving us closer to the Government’s target of clean power by 2030.

"We’re pleased to see Ministers are going to continue to work with us to reform our electricity market by enabling more grid capacity and energy storage to be built to reduce constraints and add greater flexibility to the system, which will benefit consumers by making the most of the volumes of clean power we’re generating.

“Confirming the details of reforms in the way that generators are charged for access to the grid will also enable companies to develop projects with a greater level of certainty in the years ahead”.