Nodal pricing is not on the agenda in the UK at the moment – but it is in the air. Janet Wood found out why, and took a look at how it works 

Within Europe’s “single” internal electricity market (IEM) there is not a single price across the whole continent. Instead, prices are set in specific zones. They can coincide with national boundaries, and in many cases they do. But the EU has long argued that this is inefficient. Instead, zones should apply to natural boundaries in the electricity system.