A new report by the UK Energy Research Centre calls for constraint markets, a more efficient balancing mechanism, moving increased policy costs onto general taxation, a tiered standing charge, and greater system flexibility. It found that average annual domestic electricity bills increased by about £325 in real terms between 2015 and 2025. The former chancellor Rachel Reeves proposed moving part, 75%, of the old renewables obligation (RO) subsidies, onto general taxation at the last Budget in November. Government intervention in April 2026 addressed a large proportion of these policy costs, the research centre said, reducing bills by £88 on average for households. UKERC director and professor of energy policy and technology Rob Gross said: “There is a clear opportunity to reduce electricity bills more quickly.