North MSP calls again for national pricing for electricity

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, is again calling on government to introduce a national pricing strategy for electricity charging.  The MSP has already raised this matter with the Secretary of State for Energy, Amber Rudd, and with Western Isles SNP MP, Angus MacNeill, who is the Chair of Westminster’s Energy & Climate Change Committee.  Mrs Grant has advised government of the grossly unfair process of customers in the north of Scotland being charged more than other areas for their electricity due to high distribution costs involved in supplying electricity to the Highlands and Islands.  Customers of SSE in the north are charged two pence more per unit of electricity used than customers in other parts of the country.

Mrs Grant has been told by the Minister of State, Andrea Leadsom MP, that a national pricing policy, as SSE themselves have also asked government to introduce, would mean lower network charges in some areas, but increases in others with the Minister stating that “There are fuel poor consumers throughout the UK, including in the areas that could be expected to see higher bills as a result of the proposal.”

The north MSP has however received figures from the Scottish Parliament’s Financial Scrutiny Unit, which confirms that the north has the highest levels of fuel poverty in the SSE area.  The Western Isles is the worst at 62% fuel poverty levels, followed by the Orkney Islands at 58%, Highland at 50% with the Shetland Islands and Argyll and Bute both experiencing 43% fuel poverty levels.

Mrs Grant said “The levels of fuel poverty experienced in the Highlands and Islands are eyewatering yet neither the SNP government in Holyrood nor the Tory government in Westminster appear to care.  The north experiences some of the worst winter conditions, does not have the gas connections that other areas have and is doubly penalised by being charged more to get its electricity.  It is not good enough and Nicola Sturgeon and David Cameron need to take stock of this and sort it out. ”

Mrs Grant continued “Customers in the north are being very unfairly treated.  This needs to stop, and stop now.”

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