British consumers face the prospect of sharply higher energy bills to fund £200bn in investment in power plants and other energy infrastructure over the next 10-15 years to avoid energy shortages and meet climate change goals, Ofgem, the energy regulator, warned on Friday.

The stark number was the top end of a range of four scenarios the regulator has drawn up in projecting the likely development of Britain’s infrastructure in the next 10-15 years to assess the impact of the credit crunch, new legislation relating to climate change and the effect of “green” stimulus packages.