Blackout warning: Energy bills could rise £30 to keep lights on

Energy bills could rise by £30 a year to prevent winter blackouts, MPs (BSE: MPSLTD.BO - news) have warned.

Households face "intermittent blackouts for the foreseeable future" unless something is done to address the problem with National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) 's capacity.

Recent winters have seen the spare electricity margin fall from around 17% in 2011-12 to around 1% this winter, according to a report by the British Infrastructure Group of MPs.

:: Winter blackout risk 'highest for six years'

They claim Government targets for closing coal power stations and expanding renewable energy sources to hit climate change goals have reduced power generation.

In the report, which is titled Electric Shock: Will The Christmas Lights Go Out Next Winter? , they say this has allowed prices to sharply increase.

It cautions the National Grid's emergency power deals have now become "the norm" with £122.4m expected to be paid out for the cold months of 2016 and 2017.

To plug the gap, MPs say, household bills may have to increase by £30 a year by 2020.

Tory MP Grant Shapps, who heads the group, said: "A radical rehabilitation of electricity markets is required to bring both consumer prices and capacity concerns under control in the short term."

He added that in the longer term the Government should "work to make it profitable for private companies to invest and innovate in our electricity markets once again".

Daniel Mahoney, head of economic research at the Centre for Policy Studies, said: "Mismanagement of energy policy - both from the European Union and the UK Government - has left the UK with desperately narrow capacity margins.

"In her first major campaign speech, Theresa May made a welcome declaration that she wanted to see an energy policy that promotes the reliability of supply and lower costs for users.

"This report re-emphasises the need for this commitment to be delivered."

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: "Keeping the lights on is non-negotiable for this government.

"We currently have a surplus margin of 6.6%, which is even higher than last year."