Ofgem chief calls for calm amid 'ugly' row over electricity market

The head of Britain's energy regulator has called for an industry truce in the deepening row over plans to overhaul the electricity market.

- Jillian Ambrose

A decision on whether to replace the country's single electricity market with multiple market zones, each with their own price, is expected within weeks. It could mean homes in areas where there is an abundance of electricity generation will pay lower prices than homes in areas of high demand and low generation capacity.

But before the decision, to be taken by the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is made, energy organisations have stepped up opposing campaigns in what sources call one of the energy industry's "ugliest" drives to pile pressure on the government in years.

The campaigns have included contradictory paid-for research by third-party consultants, opinion surveys and co-ordinated open letters to government.