The UK should become less dependent on gas power and develop nuclear and renewable energy sources, the International Energy Agency has said.
Speaking after the group published a report on the UK energy market, IEA executive director Claude Mandil said the UK should also be more efficient.
He also said that the government needed to be more "proactive" about providing certainty over future policy decisions.
Mr Mandil's comments come as the UK is reviewing its national energy policy.
He also said that the government needed to be more "proactive" about providing certainty over future policy decisions.
Mr Mandil's comments come as the UK is reviewing its national energy policy.
'Significant barrier'
Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that the UK should be willing to consider any type of power generation, and last year the UK gave the go-ahead for new wave of nuclear power stations.
This stance has proved controversial, drawing fire from Labour supporters, opposition parties and environmental groups.
Mr Mandil said that the UK was right to consider nuclear power because "no technology should be ruled out on principle".
The key to future policy will be allowing "market participants to decide on the fuels of their new power stations".
This stance has proved controversial, drawing fire from Labour supporters, opposition parties and environmental groups.
Mr Mandil said that the UK was right to consider nuclear power because "no technology should be ruled out on principle".
The key to future policy will be allowing "market participants to decide on the fuels of their new power stations".
Rather than dictating the terms of new power station construction, Mr Mandil said that the government should streamline its approval and construction processes, and this in turn would help promote energy diversity.
"The planning system under which large infrastructure projects are licensed, permitted and built, is a significant barrier to energy infrastructure developments and can become a risk to security of supply," he explained.
"The UK government should address this issue, to facilitate the provision of renewables as well as other energy infrastructure for which the market signals a need, but which cannot be tackled due to planning problems."
"The planning system under which large infrastructure projects are licensed, permitted and built, is a significant barrier to energy infrastructure developments and can become a risk to security of supply," he explained.
"The UK government should address this issue, to facilitate the provision of renewables as well as other energy infrastructure for which the market signals a need, but which cannot be tackled due to planning problems."
Sound foundations
Referring to the supply problems of last year's winter that produced a spike in domestic gas prices, Mr Mandil said that "it clearly demonstrated that the UK's market worked".
The higher prices meant that demand was cut at a time when domestic gas production was declining quickly and at the same time "spurred new long-term capacity developments to ensure that a repetition of the crisis is unlikely".
"One year on, new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and pipeline capacity is on stream and wholesale gas prices have now fallen to half the level in continental Europe," he said.
At the same time, "several increases in power generation capacity have been announced over the past year", he said.
"This willingness to invest in the UK's energy market shows that its foundation is sound," Mr Mandil said.
The higher prices meant that demand was cut at a time when domestic gas production was declining quickly and at the same time "spurred new long-term capacity developments to ensure that a repetition of the crisis is unlikely".
"One year on, new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and pipeline capacity is on stream and wholesale gas prices have now fallen to half the level in continental Europe," he said.
At the same time, "several increases in power generation capacity have been announced over the past year", he said.
"This willingness to invest in the UK's energy market shows that its foundation is sound," Mr Mandil said.
Source: BBC
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