LONDON (Reuters) - The UK government proposed new measures to reform the country's power market on Tuesday but delayed a key decision on payments to back up power plants to the end of the year.
With a quarter of the UK's generating capacity shutting down over the next 10 years as old coal and nuclear power stations close, more than 110 billion pounds ($176 billion) of investment is needed to build the equivalent of 20 large power stations and upgrade the grid, the government said.
"Without reform, our reserve capacity will fall to uncomfortable levels and there is a much higher risk of blackouts by the end of the decade," UK energy secretary Chris Huhne told Parliament.
