Energy users ‘could save £5bn a year’ if gas plants are removed from market

Former energy tsar suggests the ‘radical step’ as one of the few options the government has for cutting bills

The government could save energy users £5bn a year by overhauling the electricity market to stop gas-fired power stations from setting the wholesale price for electricity, according to the former energy tsar.

Britain relies on gas plants for about a quarter of its annual electricity use, but they play a much greater role during spells of low wind and low solar generation.