British taxpayers to subsidise French energy bills as 'wasteful' rules mean £16bn sold off for cheap overseas

British taxpayers are set to subsidise French energy bills as "wasteful" rules mean an eyewatering £16billion is being sold off for cheap overseas.

Octopus Energy, which is the UK's largest gas and electricity company, warned the ongoing issue would come at a massive expense from 2030 until 2050.

The energy experts added the cost would work out to an average of a staggering £770million a year.

But the current estimates could skyrocket if Sir Keir Starmer is successful in his bid to unite the UK's electricity market with the European Union's.

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The next UK-EU "reset" summit is due to take place on July 22 which Sir Keir hailed as an opportunity to "put Britain in the heart of Europe".

When excessive power is generated in Britain, which happens particularly around Scotland and the North of England, foreign governments are able to take advantage and buy up the cheaper energy.

As it costs too much to ferry the energy across the country and then over the Channel, grid operators attempt to "balance" the ordeal by firing up power plants across the south east of England at a much higher cost.

As a result, Britons are being forced to cough up payment for the grid operators, as well as the initial subsidies.

The Tories condemned the current rules. Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho told The Telegraph: "The problem with our electricity market is that it’s protecting wind developers not the consumer.

"Why should the consumer pay for energy to be created in Britain that is then going to be sold for profit to France?

"Energy companies will get paid twice whilst consumers get shafted. Our Cheap Power Plan would put cheap energy first,."

As part of the plan to have closer ties with the bloc, Labour has been eyeing up a plan to merge the electricity market with Brussels's own network.

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Back in March, the European Council granted permission to let the Commission commence negotiating with the UK on the future of Britain's potential participation in the block's internal electricity market.

Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister for European Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, said the move "marks tangible progress" in delivering Sir Keir's attempt to bring the UK closer to the EU.

"By deepening cooperation in electricity, we are enhancing energy security and creating new opportunities for businesses," she hailed.

"These decisions undoubtedly mark a significant step in forging a strong, mutually beneficial, and forward-looking EU-UK partnership."

A Government spokesman said: "We do not comment on ongoing negotiations, but you cannot ignore the fact that we already use interconnectors – we're fixing a system that is clunky, slow, and prone to expensive miscalculations.

"Electricity trading is common sense. By modernising our approach, we can export our clean surplus power instead of paying wind farms to switch off.

"Equally, on freezing, windless days, we can import cheaper electricity rather than firing up expensive domestic gas plants.

"This is a two-way street designed to protect consumers. Fixing these inefficiencies will ensure power automatically flows where it is cheapest, helping to bear down on bills for British households."

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