The liberalisation and privatisation of the energy markets in the United Kingdom began under the tenure of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government in the 1980s.

[2] This has been called the Thatcher-Lawson agenda, due to the key role of Nigel Lawson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1983–89) in the Thatcher ministry.

[3] There was a perceived need to reduce the inefficient state control of the energy sector and to introduce a market-oriented system through privatisation.

Access to the energy market would be given to more organisations, improving competition and reducing prices for the consumer.

[7] Other factors included regulatory changes by the EU that facilitated the use of gas, technological advances that increased the efficiency of combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT), increased North Sea gas production, and the environmental benefits of reduced carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide emissions.