Can Britain’s Broken Energy System Be Fixed?

Britain has some of the highest electricity prices in the world. As of last year, nearly two and half million people live in fuel poverty, and it’s crippling our industries too. How did we get here?

In 2024, a record 50.4% of our electricity came from renewable sources. We don’t need to pay for the wind to blow and the sun to shine, and solar panels have been getting less expensive every year. But creating an electricity grid that can cope with the challenges of renewable energy isn’t cheap – and it’s certainly not straightforward either.

Yet as we emerge from another summer of record temperatures, wild fires and global fossil fuel price shocks, the question of how we manage our transition to clean energy has never been more important or more complicated.

Journalist Jonathan Ford speaks to economists, policy makers and industry leaders who shed light on the past, present and potential future of the UK’s electricity system, and finds out what can be done.

Presenter: Jonathan Ford
Producer: Artemis Irvine
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4