Energy market reforms announced today

The fear is that consumers will have to pay more for energy prices to fund investment in new low-carbon forms of energy.

The government favours investment in a new generation of power plants using low-carbon technologies, this would include renewable as well as nuclear and clean goal and gas.

The press is citing electricity rises of £500 a year to pay for the new power stations, a figure disputed by Chris Huhne on the BBC’s Today programme this morning.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Huhne says that his plans are the most ambitious yet to reform the electricity market.

He says that £110 billion of investment is needed to replace ageing plants and make the shift from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy.

The government plans will be outlined in detail later today.

Alison Brown