We asked witnesses about the effectiveness of the marginal pricing system and whether what customers were being charged reflected the cost of producing the energy they used. The Department told us that it was looking into this issue through its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA).68 The REMA is a major electricity market reform the Department announced in July 2022, to support full decarbonisation of the electricity system by 2035 ensuring security of supply and cost effectiveness for consumers. It consulted on its review during summer 2022 and published the summary responses to the consultation on 7 March 2023. In the consultation, the Department stated that it will explore reforms that move away from marginal pricing. One alternative option is a pay- as-bid system, where participants receive the price of their bids/ offers rather than the bid of the highest priced supplier selected to provide supply. However, generators are likely to bid strategically, and be incentivised to bid at the price of the most expensive offer accepted. Of the 124 responses, respondents to the consultation were split over whether they supported this alternative. In its consultation document, the Department set out that it planned to determine the reforms needed during 2022–23 and establish a full delivery plan and oversee its implementation from the mid-2020’s in time to meet its target to decarbonise the UK power system by 2035. However, it has not yet made available any further details of the timeframe of the review.69 In the meantime, if gas prices increase again, consumers and taxpayers will be subject to significant costs again. The previous reform, the Electricity Market Reform, took two and a half years.70 The Department told us that one of the lessons it had learnt from the last 18 months had been to strengthen the case for more renewables and nuclear energy, and to make sure that the benefits are passed on to consumers, which it planned to achieve through the REMA.71