Davey: Independent Scotland faces higher energy bills

A yes vote in September’s referendum could lead to higher energy bills in Scotland, according to UK energy secretary Ed Davey.

Speaking at the Scottish Renewables Conference yesterday, Davey said that an independent Scotland would lose the protection it gains from the UK from the full costs of Scottish power generation.

He highlighted that more than a quarter of all UK support for renewable generation goes to Scotland, while only a tenth of the UK population lives north of the border.

Davey said: “These costs and subsidies are spread out over all 33 million households, not just Scotland’s three million.

“If Scotland were to choose to go it alone, maintaining this level of support would take up a greater proportion of national finances.”

He added this would result in higher taxes, higher energy bills, or cuts to other areas of public spending, such as health, defence, or education.

The UK energy secretary did state that the rest of the UK, should Scotland vote for independence, “would continue to trade energy with an independent Scotland”, but warned that this would be “incredibly complex and difficult”.

Davey also said: “There can be no guarantees about how much or at what price the UK will trade energy with an independent Scotland.

“Because there are no guarantees about how much electricity from an independent Scotland would actually cost.”

He added that Scotland would “join the list” of counties the UK would buy electricity from and that Scots should not “underestimate the renewable potential yet to be tapped in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including offshore wind and tidal”.

Davey told delegates that continuing to support the Scottish renewable sector post-independence “goes against all commercial logic” and that “independence means independence – not a continuation of business as usual”.