Zonal electricity pricing plan could add £3bn a year to GB bills, report finds

Research finds proposal may also drive up cost of building new windfarms as developers need higher subsidies to offset cost

Plans to overhaul England, Wales and Scotland's electricity market risk piling an extra 3bn on to household energy bills every year until the 2040s, according to the government's own clean power adviser.

New research has found that moving ahead with a plan to divide the national electricity market into different pricing zones could drive up the cost of building new windfarms as the government aims for a renewable energy boom before the end of the decade.