Rubbish Check
Daily Mail Money · 23 September 2026
source“Why are the UK’s energy costs so high? Report reveals why electricity bills have rocketed 147% since 2010”
R2/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates Daily Mail Money's claim that UK electricity bills have "rocketed 147% since 2010" a 2/10 because that figure is lifted directly, unaltered, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies' own report on the subject.
The Verdict
Base fact, lightly dressed up. The 147% figure is exactly what the IFS published, and the article backs it with genuine context (CPI comparison, wholesale cost breakdown, international price comparisons). The only iteration away from pure cleanliness is the "report reveals why" framing: the IFS report supplies the headline number and the wholesale-cost mechanics, but several of the causal explanations in the piece (infrastructure spend, geopolitics, net zero subsidy detail) come from the Mail's own reporting and outside experts, not solely "the report." That's a minor overstatement of the source's scope, not a distortion of the number itself.
What actually happened
The Institute for Fiscal Studies published a report this week finding that UK household electricity prices have risen 147% since 2010, far outpacing general inflation. The article uses that finding as a jumping-off point to explain the drivers of high UK electricity costs, including wholesale gas prices, network upgrade costs, and net zero subsidies, drawing on additional commentary from Ofgem, Uswitch and industry analysts.
Key facts
- The IFS states: "The price of electricity for households has risen by 147% since 2010; in contrast, general prices, measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), increased by 63% over the same period." This matches the headline figure exactly.
- The article reports UK households paid 29.70p per kWh in 2025, versus 22.41p in France, 22.99p in Sweden and 21.22p in the Netherlands, as sourced from government/IEA comparison data.
- Wholesale costs made up 31% of the average UK household electricity bill in 2025-26 (£283 per household), per the IFS.
- In 2021, gas accounted for 40% of total UK generation but set the electricity price 97% of the time, per the IFS's merit-order mechanics.
- Ofgem approved a five-year, £28billion grid upgrade plan in December 2025, estimated to add £108 to bills by 2031.
What to watch for
- VAT on electricity bills is set to fall from 5% to zero in October, a genuine near-term relief that deserves its own headline scrutiny for how much it actually knocks off typical bills.
- Watch whether future coverage conflates "net zero costs" with wholesale gas volatility, the IFS data shows gas exposure, not renewables, drives most of the marginal pricing problem.
- Energy UK's £7billion debt forecast for 2026 is a distinct claim from a different source; check it doesn't get merged into the IFS figure in follow-up stories.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
