Electricity bills in the UK are higher than in any comparable rich country. Some blame the net-zero1 zealotry of the government for that. What is really to blame for high energy bills？
英国电费远高于其他同等富裕国家。有些人将此归咎于政府过分热衷于净零排放。但高额能源账单的根源何在？
In the US in 2023， one kilowatt hour of industrial electricity cost about 6.5p.2 For Sweden， the figure was 8p. For France， 18p. Here， it was almost 26p.
2023年，美国工业电价约为每千瓦时6.5便士。这一数值在瑞士是8便士，法国是18便士，而在英国，几乎是26便士。
International Energy Agency data （for industrial electricity） shows recent prices in the UK have been more than three times those in the US， nearly double Japan’s， a third above Germany’s and more than double the average in the OECD3 club of developed nations. We currently pay more than any other comparable rich country.
来自国际能源署的（工业用电）数据表明，近期英国电价已高达美国的3倍多，日本的近2倍，比德国高出1/3，是经合组织发达成员国平均电价的2倍以上。如今英国民众要比任何其他同等富裕国家支付更多电费。
Why are energy prices so high？
为何能源价格如此之高？
The UK is a net importer of natural gas and unusually exposed to the volatility in the global market. And in this country， the price of electricity has long been determined mostly by the gas price—far more so than in other similar countries， and even though the role of gas in the overall energy mix is falling.
英国是天然气净进口国，极易受全球市场波动的影响。长期以来，该国的电价主要由天然气价格决定——程度远甚于其他同类国家，即使天然气在整个能源配比中的占比正在下降，情况依然如此。
In 2024， for the first time， renewable energy （mainly wind and solar power） generated most of the UK’s electricity. That’s an important milestone in making Britain a clean-energy “superpower” （one of the government’s stated “missions”）.
2024年，可再生能源（主要是风能和太阳能）产出了英国大部分电力，这还是头一次。这是让英国成为清洁能源“超级大国”（政府宣布的“重要任务”之一）的一个重要里程碑。
So you would hope that since renewable energy is far cheaper than fossil fuels， prices would be falling steadily. Alas， of that there is no sign.
于是，人们开始期待：既然可再生能源远比化石燃料便宜，那么电价肯定会持续下降。可惜，关于这一点没有丝毫迹象。
Why aren’t there signs of energy prices falling in UK？
为何不见英国能源价格下降的迹象？
Two big reasons. First， the auction method by which energy retailers source their supplies. This isn’t a free-for-all4 auction where producers compete on cost to attract customers. It’s a marginal pricing5 system—similar to that seen in some commodity markets—where the “wholesale electricity price” for the whole market is set by the most expensive power station needed to meet the overall demand.
有两大原因。首先是能源零售商赖以获得电力供应的竞价机制。这可不是那种生产商以低价竞相吸引顾客的自由放任式竞价，而是一种边际成本定价系统——某些商品市场中就采用此类定价方法——在此系统中，整个市场的“批发电价”由满足市场总需求所必需的电站中成本最高的那家决定。
This reflects the fact that energy is critical to national security so all players need to be incentivised to keep the lights on6. In the UK， gas plants are the most expensive almost all of the time （98% in 2023）， whereas the European average for fossil fuels was just 58%—meaning that energy bills are much higher here.
由此可见，能源对国家安全至关重要，所以要激励所有参与方共同保障电力供应。
