SNP MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Alasdair Allan has called on the UK Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, to set out how exactly the UK Government are proposing to reduce household energy bills by £300, as set out in their manifesto. This follows the UK Government announcing it had ruled out the introduction of zonal pricing, something which could have significantly benefitted islanders, who pay more for energy than those south of the border.

Instead of seeking to implement zonal pricing, which critics say could have put off renewables investors, Miliband is instead pushing his ‘first come first served’ policy change for proposed developments. However, there is concern this change could mean smaller community projects miss out on grid space, due to lower levels of resources available to progress their projects quickly (even if the space has previously been allocated to them).

Following the UK Government’s announcement, Allan commented:

“Scotland’s Highlands and Islands produce a huge percentage of Scotland’s energy needs, yet rural households are punished with higher energy bills than consumers south of the border due to a hugely outdated and unfair energy system. With the UK Government now ruling out zonal pricing, we need to have a clear plan from them as soon as possible about how they will honour their manifesto commitment to significantly lower household energy bills.  

“The reality is energy policy is still reserved to a UK Government that does not have the interests of Scotland at heart.  

“Whilst the SNP has used its limited powers to protect winter fuel payments and the vulnerable from higher energy bills, we need the powers of independence to create energy policies that will always put Scotland first.  

“An energy rich Scotland should mean energy rich Scots, and it's only the SNP who will stand up for Scotland and deliver the progress our country needs.”