In this podcast excerpt, host Will Richardson explains why UK households are still paying high electricity bills despite renewable sources supplying over half of the nation’s power in 2024. He outlines the legacy Thatcher-era market rule that forces all consumers to pay the marginal price set by the most expensive (usually gas) generator, even when renewables dominate generation. Richardson argues this is a deliberate legal choice, not an accident, and proposes three fixes: (1) sell renewable electricity at its actual near‑zero production cost, (2) adopt long‑term fixed‑price contracts to bypass volatile wholesale markets, and (3) pressure MPs to repeal the outdated pricing rule. The segment ends with a brief promo for Will’s Substack, offering free access to sustainability news and analysis.
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Hey, thanks so much for listening. I would love to be able to help you more on what it is that you are listening to and why you're listening to, to me. If you could click on the link in the show notes, that would be awesome because it will help me define what it is that we should be talking about on this podcast. Britain is actually pretty good at making clean energy now. In 2024, for the first time ever, more than half of our electricity came from wind, solar, and water. Scotland generates so much more renewable electricity it exports the surplus to England. That sounds like great news for your energy bill. It isn't. There's a rule invented in the 1980s when Thatcher privatised the energy markets that says everyone pays the price of the most energy source used at the moment, and that's almost always gas. So even on a day when wind is powering 90% of the country, the tiny amount of gas to keep the lights on during peak demand sets the price for everybody. We are generating green energy at near-zero cost and billing you at fossil fuel rates. That's not an accident, that's a choice. baked into law that nobody in government has had the courage to change. So what can fix it? Renewables need to be sold at what they actually cost to make, not at gas prices. Long-term fixed-price contracts between generators and consumers would cut out the volatile wholesale market, and we need to hold politicians accountable. Write to your MP and ask them why a 40-year-old pricing rule designed for a fossil fuel world is still setting your bill today.
Grab free access to Will's Substack while it lasts. Every week we pull together the top sustainability stories from dozens of trusted sources Then he breaks down the big issues facing business right now in plain, practical terms. Link in the description.