Energy firms 'forced National Grid to pay them higher prices'

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Energy companies have received more than half a billion pounds from consumers by using a controversial trading manoeuvre to demand higher prices for generating power, according to new analysis.

Gas and coal power plant owners including Vitol's VPI, Uniper and SSE opted not to generate electricity through Britain's main power market, forcing National Grid to pay them much higher prices through a separate market to prevent blackouts, a Bloomberg investigation found.

Downing Street described the behaviour as "completely unacceptable", while MPs described it as "morally wrong" and a "scandal".

The costs National Grid incurs are ultimately paid for by households and businesses on their energy bills. The total sum companies obtained through this behaviour between 2018 and 2022 reached £525 million, with almost 90 per