Record energy prices could increase even more as the government is reportedly planning to introduce new “green” charges for gas.

A new strategy will be published before the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow next month, which commits the government to cutting the price of electricity and imposing a levy on gas bills to fund low-carbon heating, according to The Times.

It comes after PM Boris Johnson said Britain aims to produce “clean power” by 2035 as part of a goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has insisted that decarbonising the UK’s power supply would ensure that households are less vulnerable to swings in fossil fuel markets.

Ministers will release a series of consultations before going ahead with the plan, which is likely to start in 2023 and could add £170 a year to gas bills, the newspaper reported.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy told the Times: “We’ll set out our upcoming heat and buildings strategy shortly. No decisions have been made.”

Several Tory MPs have joined Labour and the manufacturing industry to call on the government to support factories and businesses struggling with rising energy bills.

Mr Kwarteng met industry leaders on Friday but they failed to find any solutions, the BBC reports.

Labour has accused the government of being in denial about gas prices, which have risen 250 per cent since January.