A high-profile row has erupted between two of the UK’s leading green energy entrepreneurs over a proposed shake-up of the country’s electricity pricing – a move that could have major implications for the British farming sector.
Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, and Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, are at odds over plans by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to introduce “zonal pricing” for electricity. Under the proposal, the price of power would vary depending on where it is generated and consumed – a shift away from the current system of flat national pricing.
Jackson is backing the reform, calling the existing pricing structure “crazy” and “inefficient”. He points out that large-scale wind farms in Scotland are often paid to switch off due to limited grid capacity, with the costs passed onto consumers across the UK. “We’ve got the biggest wind farms in the UK being idle most of the time, and we’re all paying for that,” he said. Jackson argues that zonal pricing would drive investment in local energy generation, cut waste, and accelerate the transition to net zero.
But Vince fiercely opposes the change. He warns that zonal pricing could lead to a postcode lottery, where energy-intensive sectors like agriculture could face higher costs simply due to geography. “It sounds like an idea cooked up in a spreadsheet without thinking about how it works in the real world,” he said.
For farmers – especially those in remote or rural regions – the stakes are high. Access to affordable electricity is crucial for everything from cold storage and irrigation to automated feeding systems and crop processing. If zonal pricing pushes up power costs in certain areas, it could widen the divide between urban and rural economies and strain already tight farm margins.
At the same time, proponents of the reform argue it could benefit growers who diversify into renewable energy. Farmers located near wind or solar farms may enjoy cheaper, locally generated electricity – and opportunities to supply power to the grid themselves.
As the UK moves towards its net zero goals, the future of the electricity market is a key battleground – and for British agriculture, the outcome could shape both costs and opportunities for decades to come.
