People in England and Wales concerned about higher electricity bills under scheme to divide UK up into different pricing zones

3 April 2025 - RenewableUK press release

A poll of over 3,000 people in England and Wales by Opinium Research, commissioned by RenewableUK, has found that most of them object to proposals by the Government to introduce a new scheme called zonal electricity pricing, as it would lead to unfair increases in their energy bills.

Under the controversial scheme, which is currently being considered by Ministers, Great Britain would be divided up into different zones, and households and businesses would pay different rates for the same amount of electricity depending on how close they are to where power is generated, creating a postcode lottery for billpayers.

Analysis by LCP Delta shows that the 60 million billpayers in England and Wales would be hit hardest by the proposals, while only those in northern Scotland might benefit.

The new polling shows that 58% of people in England and Wales oppose zonal pricing, while only 14% are supportive of it. 59% of the public see the policy as unfair, whereas only 16% think it would be a fair system. 72% said the Government should instead prioritise reducing energy costs for all parts of the country at a flat rate, whereas only 12% believe that the Government should prioritise creating regional power markets.

The introduction of zonal pricing would be a radical reform to the electricity market, which 72% of the public believe the Government should have told voters about before the last election, given its repercussions.

50% of those polled said they would not believe the Government if it tried to argue that the scheme could lead to cheaper bills across the country because the electricity system would be more efficient overall – as is often claimed by proponents of zonal pricing – and only 21% of people believe this claim could be true.

There have been several joint letters to Government recently from leading energy companies, industry trade associations and trade unions calling for the Government to rule out the introduction of zonal pricing given its negative impact on clean energy investment, job creation, and manufacturing across the country.

Jane Cooper, Deputy CEO of RenewableUK, said:

“People in England and Wales are rightly worried that zonal pricing would create a postcode lottery in which they’ll be paying higher energy bills. As this polling shows, the lack of fairness which lies at the heart of zonal pricing really concerns people. It’s no surprise they see it as something the Government should have outlined in its manifesto before considering bringing it forward. It’s a huge change”.

“This scheme would create so much uncertainty in our electricity market that it could disrupt investment in vital new clean energy projects and push up their costs, at the very time when we need to start building at pace to deliver the Government’s target of clean power by 2030. We’re urging Ministers to rule out zonal pricing as soon as possible, and to focus on policy decisions which do not undermine the confidence of investors”.

The fully-weighted survey of 3,249 people in England and Wales was carried out by Opinium Research on 6th-11th March 2025. The full polling tables are available on request.

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Notes

For further information, contact

Robert Norris, Head of Communications
07969 229 913 | Robert.Norris@RenewableUK.com

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