Dash for gas ‘could raise energy bills’

Green Alliance said Britain’s first dash for gas in the 1990s was good for the country because it brought down carbon emissions and electricity prices.

But Britain now has a slew of new gas plants, being built or planned, the think tank warns that they could lead to the UK missing its carbon targets for the 2020s.

Fitting gas-fired power stations with unproven technology to capture and “permanently” store emissions, to cut carbon, could increase the cost of producing electricity for firms who will pass the extra cost onto customers.

Alternatively, if the Government presses ahead with its plans for new nuclear power plants and a much bigger role for renewables, it could make redundant up to half the number of the gas plants expected on the grid by 2030.