Recommendation 23

Three years ago, in April 2022, the previous government launched its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) as part of its British Energy Security Strategy. This was the government’s flagship policy to enable a net 59 Q 68; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Quarterly Energy Prices UK April to June 2024, September 2024 60 Committee of Public Accounts, Decarbonising home heating, Thirty-Seventh Report of Session 2023–24, HC 653, May 2024, paragraph 10; Qq 21, 22, 65 61 Q 21 62 Committee of Public Accounts, Decarbonising home heating, Thirty-Seventh Report of Session 2023–24, HC 653, May 2024, paragraph 11; Qq 21, 22 63 Q 21 64 Q 21 65 Q 22 14 zero power sector by 2035, subject to security of supply, while ensuring a fair deal for consumers.66 The Department aims to review how electricity prices are set for households so that they can benefit from cheaper rates if demand is low or when the weather means more energy is produced by intermittent renewable generation. The Department explained that decoupling electricity bills from fossil fuel prices would make them more stable and less exposed to international risks.67 The Department told us that it has “narrow[ed] down on a set of key decisions [it thinks] are important for shaping the market of the future”. The Department told us that it is committed to setting out its proposals “later this year”.68 Ensuring security of energy supply