Skyrocketing gas prices are responsible for almost 80% of the increase in the UK’s wholesale electricity prices.

That’s one of the key findings of a new analysis by Ember which estimates that monthly average electricity prices surged by almost £120/MWh during the period July 2021 to June 2022.

The think tank found that the prices increased from £55/MWh to £171/MWh and the cost of fossil gas was responsible for £93/MWh of this spike.

The report suggests the UK is still heavily reliant on gas to cover its electricity needs – it estimates that last year, the UK generated almost 40% of its electricity from gas plants.

Yesterday, the government unveiled the Review of the Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) consultation which included a plan to decouple gas prices from electricity prices.

Sarah Brown, Senior Energy and Climate Analyst at Ember, said: “The UK energy crisis is a fossil gas crisis. Luckily, the solutions are readily available: more wind turbines and solar panels.

“Every new domestic wind and solar project will lower electricity prices and ease the grip of volatile global gas prices.”