The Adam Smith Institute (ASI), a free- market think tank, tells that UK industrial and business electricity prices (for factories, data centres, and office blocks) are now 81% higher than in France, effectively nearly twice as much and blames this largely on the UK’s net zero policies.

France heavily subsidizes industrial electricity through state-owned EDF, which sells about a quarter of its generation at below-market rates to businesses, effectively a policy choice rather than a pure net zero outcome.

UK industrial electricity prices have indeed been among the highest in Europe and the G7 for several years, driven by a mix of wholesale market dynamics, network charges, policy costs (including renewables subsidies), and taxes.

Recent government data (from DESNZ/IEA comparisons for 2024–2025) shows UK large industrial users paying significantly more than EU averages, with France often lower due to its nuclear dominance.

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Net zero blamed as British factories pay nearly twice as much as France for electricity

UK’s use of ‘expensive renewables’ has contributed to price surge in manufacturing

Net zero has been blamed for British businesses having to pay nearly double the price of power than their French counterparts. The Telegraph has the story.

UK factories, data centres and office blocks are paying 81pc more for electricity than companies in France, according to analysis published on Sunday by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI), a think tank.

This has left Britain at a “significant competitive disadvantage” compared with its Continental neighbour.

Over the past 25 years, the cost of electricity used in manufacturing has risen in both Britain and France, but the UK price has surged further and faster since 2021, the ASI study found.

The ASI said the “most important” factor for the disparity was the “UK’s reliance on a combination of expensive renewables and a gas backstop”.

“France, by contrast, enjoys reliable, low-carbon electricity from nuclear power plants that were relatively affordable to build at the time,” it said.

As an example, Mitchell Palmer, an ASI economist, said a large UK data centre might pay £167m for 657 gigawatt hours of electricity a year, versus just £92m in France.

Mr Palmer said a key factor in the growing disparity between the two countries was also Britain’s declining nuclear power output.

“Since 1998, the UK’s nuclear output has collapsed by 60pc. While France maintained a robust nuclear fleet, UK gold-plating and red tape have turned construction into a bureaucratic nightmare.

“At Hinkley Point C, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) mandated over 7,000 design changes, driving costs to record levels.”

Mr Palmer said the UK’s resulting reliance on wind was also driving up prices. “Wind subsidies, in particular, are driving up electricity prices, especially as wind becomes a more dominant source.”

Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: “This report is right. Sky-high electricity prices are crushing businesses across the country.

“No country can be prosperous with the highest electricity prices in the world. If we are serious about growth, our absolute priority must be to make electricity cheap.”

Read the full story here.