Ministers to enter fray over 'postcode pricing' for energy

Britain's most senior ministers could soon be drawn into a row over plans to charge some households more for electricity than others, as Ed Miliband prepares to decide on sweeping energy changes.

- Jillian Ambrose

The energy secretary is understood to be close to making a decision on whether to move ahead with proposals to replace the country's single electricity market with several zones.

Miliband is expected to make his recommendation to cabinet colleagues within the coming weeks, in advance of a final decision from the government on "zonal pricing" by the middle of this year.

Under the proposals, different areas of the country would pay differing rates for their electricity based on local supply and demand levels. This could mean that energy users in the north of Scotland would pay some of the lowest market prices in Britain, while prices in the south of the country would climb.

Following a "write-around" to other Whitehall departments, ministers are expected to give their view on the plans, which have already proved highly divisive in the energy industry.