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The Scottish National Party (SNP) has called on the UK Prime Minister to take “urgent action” to avoid the closure of the 2.4GW Longannet coal-fired power plant in Fife.
Scottish First Minister and leader of the party Nicola Sturgeon has written to UK Prime Minister David Cameron calling for a review into the UK’s energy supply after reports surfaced that talks between Scottish Power and National Grid over the future of the plant have stalled.
The Iberdrola-owned utility has warned that the plant may need to shut down because National Grid’s high transmission charges in Scotland have made it uneconomic for it to bid Longannet into the UK’s capacity auctions – threatening the plant’s future.
In a statement the SNP said the charges imposed by Westminster penalise Scottish electricity generators compared to generators in the south of England – “costing Longannet £40 million per year and putting the plant’s future in jeopardy.”
“The First Minister has called for David Cameron to take urgent action to ensure the future of Longannet – and she was absolutely right to do so. Longannet should have a bright future – with the potential to generate affordable and reliable power for years to come with the appropriate support,” SNP MSP Annabelle Ewing said.
“There can be absolutely no excuse for delay – David Cameron must act now to secure the future of Longannet,” she added.
Iberdrola said in its nine month financial results last October that the future of the plant had “come under question”, opting out of the government’s capacity market auction for power delivered in 2018/19.
At the time, Scottish Power chief executive of energy retail and generation Neil Clitheroe said: “To avoid closure within the coming years, changes to the plant’s financial situation must be achieved. The current market conditions, predominantly the transmission charging rules, mean that we simply can’t justify entering Longannet into a process which is four years away and will then only offer one year of certainty.”
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