Wednesday 12 December 2012

Independent Scotland ‘would see #energy bills increase significantly'

Media_httpwwwscotsman_dyjdw

UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey has claimed it is logical to assume that energy bills will rise “significantly” for Scottish families after independence if the burden of paying for the country’s renewable sector falls upon consumers north of the Border.

Speaking at a Scotsman Conference on energy in an independent Scotland yesterday, Mr Davey claimed subsidies which are currently borne by 26 million households across the UK could instead be shared among Scotland’s 2.5 million homes.

He warned that would mean a “significant” increase in household bills.

But his claims were rejected at the conference by SNP energy minister Fergus Ewing who

accused the UK government ministers of rushing to Scotland like an “abstentee landlord” fearing that Scotland, with its rich oil and renewables reserves, was set to leave the UK.

Mr Ewing said UK ministers would end up accepting a continuation of the current single energy market across the UK after independence, on the grounds that, without Scottish energy feeding into the national grid, the “lights would go out” on England.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/independent-scotland-would-see-energ...

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