Greenpeace UK has urged the government to implement plans to decouple the cost of electricity from gas amid a huge spike in gas prices triggered by the US-Israeli bombing of Iran.
Today, the UK’s wholesale gas price has hit a three-year high, after soaring by 93% since last week, raising the prospect of a sharp increase in energy bills.
Greenpeace has been calling for energy system reforms that would remove gas plants from the wholesale electricity market and place them into a strategic reserve[1]. This would stop expensive gas from setting electricity prices, protect UK bill payers from gas price volatility and significantly lower bills.
Greenpeace UK Head of Climate Mel Evans said:
“We’re back on the global gas price rollercoaster, and everyone’s feeling sick already. The latest conflict in the Middle East has exposed once again how much of a liability our dependence on gas is. In the UK, gas sets the price of electricity 85% of the time, and the price of gas, including North Sea gas, is set by the market. When we could be looking forward to rapidly increasing solar and wind power on the grid saving us money, instead we face the prospect of energy bills going up again thanks to our rigged pricing system. Ministers should take control of our energy bills by removing gas-fired power stations from the pricing mechanism and bringing them into a strategic reserve. This would stop gas from dominating our bills and protect households and businesses from more gas price shocks.”
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Contact
Greenpeace UK Press Office – press.uk@greenpeace.org or 020 7865 8255