Just In: Government Scraps Zonal Pricing Plans – A Win for Business and Common Sense

We’ve just had word that the Government has confirmed it will not be introducing zonal pricing as part of its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) — and here at Doncaster Chamber, we’re welcoming this news as a win for common sense.

Zonal pricing would have meant charging different prices for electricity depending on where a business is located in the country.

For us, and many of our members, this raised serious red flags. The prospect of a postcode lottery for energy costs was not only unfair but risked deterring vital investment in regions like Doncaster, undermining the Government’s own levelling-up ambitions.

Over the last few months, our national partner, the British Chambers of Commerce, has been actively raising these concerns directly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Through engagement with Chambers across the country - including responses from our own members here in Doncaster - the BCC gathered a strong evidence base highlighting:

• The risk of price volatility across different regions

• The uncertainty zonal pricing would create for future investment

• The damaging perception that some areas would be punished for their location rather than rewarded for their potential

In May, BCC took these concerns straight to the top, writing to the Secretary of State - Doncaster MP Ed Miliband - on behalf of the business community.

We were pleased to see the Chamber network, and BCC specifically, mentioned in Ed Miliband’s statement to Parliament this afternoon as one of the organisations that had voiced serious concerns and now welcomes today’s announcement.

This is a clear example of how access to our local MPs and collective business voice can shape policy and protect the interests of places like Doncaster.

There’s still a long road ahead in terms of reforming the UK’s electricity market, and we will continue to work with BCC and The  Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to make sure local businesses are not just heard but listened to.

If you’d like to have your say or want to understand more about the Government’s new energy market reform proposals, do get in touch.

Your voice matters — and as today proves, it does make a difference.