Decoupling the price of gas from electricity

That this House notes with alarm that another global fossil fuel price shock is once again threatening to send bills for households and businesses through the roof, equal to or worse than the price surge seen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; believes that when people across the UK are already struggling to make ends meet, it is unacceptable that they are once again facing another devastating spike in the cost of essentials; further notes that the UK is particularly at the mercy of global gas price fluctuations because of our marginal pricing system, meaning gas-fired power stations almost always set the price of electricity in the UK, even though a significant share of our electricity comes from cheaper renewables; further believes that by breaking the link between gas prices and electricity, the Government can better protect households from the devastating impacts of global energy price spikes; welcomes proposals published by Common Wealth, and Greenpeace and Stonehaven, on how the Government can do this; and calls on the Government to urgently take control of electricity prices by decoupling the price of gas from the price of electricity.