Decarbonising the electricity sector has been identified as a short-term priority for cutting UK greenhouse gas emissions in response to the risks of climate change. The scale and rate of change in the electricity sector means that there is a strong need for energy research and a big potential for new research to influence policy. This article outlines examples of the areas where research is, or could be, particularly influential in policy making and uses them to demonstrate some of challenges policy makers face in using research to develop policy.