Scotland should be regulating its own energy market - end of argument!! And prices would be lowered with full powers to deal with an advanced strategy to enhance our eco-energy provision far into the future.
Additionally:-
Under current devolution arrangements, the power to regulate the energy market lies firmly with Westminster. The way they have chosen to do it has been ideologically driven and political. Arms-length bodies like Ofgem are only there to enforce the UK government’s rules. Those rules are bad for Scotland and for the Scottish people – but that doesn’t much matter to the UK government, as it is not elected by the people of Scotland.
The UK government’s choices are not Scotland’s choices:
They privatised the national grid which is now owned by Transco
They gradually privatised all the UK’s publicly-owned gas and electricity boards
They created a virtually unregulated “free market” for energy companies and when 29 went bust, they decided to claw back through energy bills citizens’ money which was lost due to regulatory failure
They charge every household a levy to fund costly nuclear power, instead of investing in technologies that Scotland has world-beating expertise in, like tidal power
They have failed to set the right market conditions to support supply chains in Scotland
They have failed to set the right market conditions for energy storage, like pumped hydro, that Scotland has huge potential in
They have failed to set the right market conditions to attract investment in green manufacturing, like electric car batteries or wind turbines
They made it more lucrative for companies to import power from Europe than to build renewable facilities in Scotland
They have failed to invest in insulation and energy conservation – and as Scotland’s budget largely depends on the “Barnett consequentials” a policy designed to suit England, that affects funding for these initiatives
Energy analysts say that the lack of investment means the UK will likely miss the boat in terms of becoming a leader in the green economy
The way that the UK has managed energy policy punishes Scotland
Scotland’s consumers are charged 50 percent more in standing charges to use electricity than most of England
Scottish energy suppliers pay 10 times as much to connect to the National Grid
The National Grid has been starved of investment for decades, left configured around coal-fired power stations in the north of England
The National Grid doesn’t have enough capacity to connect renewable energy to homes in Scotland – wind turbines have to turn off power or face fines much of the time
Scotland is not allowed to operate as its own “node” which would give it the capacity to adjust consumption in a smart way through pricing, and to export energy to England at a different price from what domestic consumers pay
There is not enough capacity to store energy in ways such as pumped hydro – although Scotland used to have world-leading technology in this area
Scotland’s bills are the highest in the world btw!!!!!
Additionally:-
Under current devolution arrangements, the power to regulate the energy market lies firmly with Westminster. The way they have chosen to do it has been ideologically driven and political. Arms-length bodies like Ofgem are only there to enforce the UK government’s rules. Those rules are bad for Scotland and for the Scottish people – but that doesn’t much matter to the UK government, as it is not elected by the people of Scotland.
The UK government’s choices are not Scotland’s choices:
They privatised the national grid which is now owned by Transco
They gradually privatised all the UK’s publicly-owned gas and electricity boards
They created a virtually unregulated “free market” for energy companies and when 29 went bust, they decided to claw back through energy bills citizens’ money which was lost due to regulatory failure
They charge every household a levy to fund costly nuclear power, instead of investing in technologies that Scotland has world-beating expertise in, like tidal power
They have failed to set the right market conditions to support supply chains in Scotland
They have failed to set the right market conditions for energy storage, like pumped hydro, that Scotland has huge potential in
They have failed to set the right market conditions to attract investment in green manufacturing, like electric car batteries or wind turbines
They made it more lucrative for companies to import power from Europe than to build renewable facilities in Scotland
They have failed to invest in insulation and energy conservation – and as Scotland’s budget largely depends on the “Barnett consequentials” a policy designed to suit England, that affects funding for these initiatives
Energy analysts say that the lack of investment means the UK will likely miss the boat in terms of becoming a leader in the green economy
The way that the UK has managed energy policy punishes Scotland
Scotland’s consumers are charged 50 percent more in standing charges to use electricity than most of England
Scottish energy suppliers pay 10 times as much to connect to the National Grid
The National Grid has been starved of investment for decades, left configured around coal-fired power stations in the north of England
The National Grid doesn’t have enough capacity to connect renewable energy to homes in Scotland – wind turbines have to turn off power or face fines much of the time
Scotland is not allowed to operate as its own “node” which would give it the capacity to adjust consumption in a smart way through pricing, and to export energy to England at a different price from what domestic consumers pay
There is not enough capacity to store energy in ways such as pumped hydro – although Scotland used to have world-leading technology in this area
Scotland’s bills are the highest in the world btw!!!!!