Electricity prices will have to rise by as much as a fifth to pay for necessary improvements to Britain's ageing power infrastructure, one of Britain's biggest suppliers warned yesterday.

Forum Response: Powergen PLC

Paul Golby, of Powergen said: "As coal-fuelled power stations reach the end of their lives over the next decade, between £50bn and £70bn will have to be spent on building gas-powered generation facilities and renewing cables. 

"As long as the necessary investment was made in the UK, there was little prospect of power cuts on the scale of last summer's problems in the US and Canada.

"We can't live modern life without electricity and there is now a major need to invest in the UK. Over the next decade, we probably need to spend £50bn-£70bn to replace ageing power stations and overhead cables. We will have to get used to paying more for our electricity in the future, both for rising fuel prices and for the infrastructure investment."

Forum Response: Energy Networks Association

A spokesman for the Energy Networks Association said: "The Energy Networks Association welcomes a debate on the need to invest in the transmission and distribution network. We represent the UK transmission and distribution network operators, who ensure that electricity is transported efficiently, safely and cost effectively from the generators to homes and businesses across the UK. We confine our comments to the cost of maintaining and improving the network and not increased generation costs.