Stopping gas dictating UK energy price could cut bills by £200, thinktank says

Common Wealth’s report sets out how gas plants could be moved from the market to a ‘strategic reserve’ that would be drawn on when renewables and nuclear were not able to meet demand. Photograph: Alan Novelli/Alamy

Household energy bills could be reduced by up to £203 a year by stopping expensive fossil gas setting the price of energy in the UK, according to a report.

Under the existing system, gas – the most expensive form of electricity production in the UK system – set the price of energy 85% of the time in 2024 in the UK, even though it generates only about a quarter of Britain’s electricity.