Green energy tycoons go to war over a new North-South divide
Some experts have warned the reorganisation needed for zonal pricing would delay decarbonisation and disrupt the expansion of the grid.
Jackson, however, believes it would actually help by forcing developers to build wind and solar closer to places where demand is highest. For example, closer to England's power-hungry cities rather than in Scotland.
Such arguments may make economic sense but they are not without political risk, particularly if it means carpeting the English countryside with renewables.
Despite this, Jackson is adamant that the pros outweigh the cons, rejecting Vince's view that zonal pricing is an unnecessary distraction.
An Octopus spokesman accused Ecotricity of parading the 'familiar rhetoric of other incumbents with vested interests in maintaining the status quo'.
'But even they can't argue against the hard truth,' they added. 'The UK has some of the highest electricity prices in the world, with severe impacts on people and businesses. Our current electricity market design is failing consumers and is no longer fit for purpose. '
Industry-wide debate
Jackson's view has some powerful backers, including Ofgem, the energy regulator.
In January Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem chief executive, told MPs: 'This is not a unanimous issue, but we are, broadly, very supportive of moving to a system that has zonal pricing. We think it improves efficiency. There are ways in which you can deal with some of the regional inequalities that might result.'
Neso, the National Energy System Operator, whose job it is to run Britain's electricity networks, is also keen. 'We are in favour of zonal pricing,' said a spokesman.
However, there is far less agreement across the rest of the industry.
Energy UK, the trade body for power suppliers, counts Octopus as a member yet has come down against zonal pricing. Renewable developers also largely back Vince.
In a joint statement, Solar Energy UK, which represents solar developers, and Renewable UK, the wind industry trade body, said: 'We remain sceptical about the claimed benefits of a zonal system.'
Others argue that the battle over charging policies has forgotten one key group: billpayers.
Jackson suggests the savings will lie in the infrastructure: invisible to consumers but offering suppliers big rewards.
'The major benefit of zonal pricing is not that we expect households in different regions to behave differently,' he says. 'It's things like the interconnectors, the huge grid-scale batteries, the stuff at the backend, it will all behave very differently, saving everyone a fortune.'
However, for Ecotricity – a much smaller company without the sophisticated technology underpinning Octopus – zonal pricing is not worth the hassle.
'Zonal pricing would be an incredibly complex trading arrangement, increasing our costs for sure, along with risk and uncertainty,' says Vince.
'I'm just surprised Greg's chosen this incredibly complex thing to lobby for that's so fraught with uncertainty.'
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