Why Is Britain's Electricity the Most Expensive in the Developed World? | Free the Power
About this episode
The episode discusses the high costs of Britain's electricity and the implications of government energy policies.
In this Free the Power podcast, IEA Energy Analyst and COO Andy Mayer speaks with David Turver, independent energy expert and author of the Eigenvalues Substack. David has been writing for the IEA on the costs of net zero and has a forthcoming essay examining whether opposition party energy policies could meaningfully address those costs. The conversation focuses on the real and growing financial burden of the Government’s Clean Power 2030 plan, using official figures from the National Energy System Operator, Ofgem, and the Office for Budget Responsibility. David breaks down the two main cost drivers: subsidies and grid integration costs. Subsidies are forecast to rise by around £3 billion a year by 2031, while grid integration costs, covering the capacity market, grid balancing, and transmission network expansion, are set to triple from £8 billion to £25 billion over the same period. That adds roughly £20 billion to the annual cost of running the electricity system, against a backdrop where the UK already had the most expensive industrial electricity prices in the developed world in 2024. David contrasts this with Ed Miliband’s claim that Clean Power 2030 can bring bills down…
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