REMA must truly unlock demand-side participation to wean UK off gas
The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) wants to see the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) create a smarter, more flexible and transparent electricity market that can meet the needs of people and businesses in a world powered by renewable electricity.
Sarah Honan, Head of Policy at the ADE, said: “If we don’t place the demand-side at the heart of electricity market reform, we will need to build four new gas plants by 2030. The UK has one of the strongest offshore wind markets in the world. And yet, during the energy crisis, we were also one of the countries most exposed to high gas prices, leading to record levels of fuel poverty and debt in the energy system.
“Transforming our energy markets is not a story of balancing the books between fossil fuels, renewables and wires to transport it all – it is a story of how UK homes and businesses are empowered to participate in these markets on equal terms, with equal rewards.
“Subsidies are needed for new forms of generation, but not at the expense of low-carbon, flexible, cheap demand-side participation. Rather than continuing to focus on a handful of generation assets dotted around the country, we must turn our gaze to the millions of electric vehicles, heat pumps, and industrial processes that can balance the books, if only the markets allowed them to.”
