Scottish households will pay more for energy than London, data says

18 comments

1. Meanwhile here in Aberdeenshire we are losing farming land and forest to grid updates to bring renewable energy to England – making and paying for the South’s cheaper supply.

2. Ed doesn’t want a postcode lottery but if the government left the market to do what it wanted but left in the cap we would have much cheaper electricity for many without penalising those who are on the cap level.

3. Its time to dump Westminster and go our own way.

4. 

5. Better together.

6. It’s an extraction economy. London absorbs all the resources and human capital from the rest of Britain and then financially ‘subsidises’ the nations and regions with their own wealth.

   It’s how they keep control.

7. Ahhh canny beat the view from my window ruined by windmills and roads around my area constantly closed for Scottish power cables to be installed so Londoners can get cheaper electricity than me who farts and a windmill generates a windfall for some geezer.

8. This. You will often see Unionists argue that Scotland economically benefits due to businesses in England generating wealth for the UK as a whole and claim that our businesses and industries also profit from this relationship.
   But in actual practice, rather than let Scotland generate wealth through its own exploits and labour we are time and again given a raw deal that hinders our potential economic growth and costs us so that England prospers. After all, if Scotland is allowed to be economically viable then it gives the independence movement greater leverage, so England (namely a very specific region in Southern England) profits whilst also weaponizing their economic influence to put down a political movement at the expense of 5.6 million people.
   Why should our taxes pay for England’s renewable project which is only being done for the aforementioned reasons? Why are we paying to harm our own economy in the future? Why should we not gain the full profits of our labour?
   Everyone knows the answer, it’s because Scotland is not an equal partner in this union. We are an exploitable source of income and resources for a floundering state that is declining in both geopolitical relevance and economic standing.

9. Oh today’s grievance.

10. Well considering everywhere but London is just a vassal of London I’m not surprised

11. We already are in Scotland, aren’t we?

12. Interesting that the National did not link the analysis, nor say who did it.

    In unit price, Scotland does relatively well compared to other parts of the UK. The reason bills will be higher is because, well, overall electricity usage per capita is higher in Scotland due to colder climate etc.

13. So we do have zonal pricing, but it’s us who are getting fucked

14. I live within site of a large windfarm but I have higher standing charge (presumably the cost of transporting all that energy to me) than I would pay in central London.

    Union dividend right here.

15. “In regions like north Scotland, and north Wales and Mersey, network operators face higher costs due to factors such as challenging terrain, greater distances between populations, and colder weather conditions, making electricity distribution more complex and grid maintenance more expensive than in densely populated areas like London,” Cornwall said.

    It’s saying that standing charges are higher because of legitimate reasons. I work in the energy sector and it can be a nightmare to do even basic tasks in places like the highlands and islands.

16. Better together and aw that.

17. Yes because we are more rural

    >While policy costs are relatively uniform across the country, with only minor differences between regions, network charges, particularly distribution costs vary greatly from region to region. In Great Britian there are 14 electricity distributors also known as Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), each DNO faces different costs. In regions like North Scotland, and North Wales and Mersey, network operators face higher costs due to factors such as challenging terrain, greater distances between populations, and colder weather conditions, making electricity distribution more complex and grid maintenance more expensive than in densely populated areas like London.

    and missing from this but in [the full analysis](https://www.cornwall-insight.com/press-and-media/press-release/scottish-and-welsh-households-to-pay-100-more-for-electricity-than-londoners/)

    >The DNOs recover the costs from generators and suppliers, and these are ultimately passed on to households and businesses in their electric bills raising energy bills in these regions. **The disparity would be even higher in Scotland if not for the subsidy paid to North Scotland’s DNO, Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution, through the Assistance for Areas with High Electricity Distribution Costs (AAHEDC) scheme.**

    [Assistance for Areas with High Electricity Distribution Costs (AAHEDC) scheme?](https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/charging/assistance-areas-high-electricity-distribution-costs-aahedc)

    >We recover the assistance amount through a charge on **all suppliers**. This is passed on to Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution Ltd, so distribution charges in the North of Scotland can be reduced.

    So London/ENgland (and Southern Scotland) subsidises the North of Scotland by how much?

    [and](https://www.neso.energy/document/358266/download)

    >The above tariff is based on the forecast demand base of 274.17 TWh, and the Total Scheme
    Amount of £112.7m which is composed of the Assistance Amount of £81.7m, the Shetland Assistance
    Amount of £33.6m, the Administration Amount of £0.15m and a forecast Correction Amount of
    -£2.8m due to over-recovery and potential bad debts (c.£0.2m) from 2024/25.

    Given ~70% of the population is in the central belt that’s about £100 per person? Some (50%?) of that will be on commercial / public bodies, but as household average is 2.15 that means at least £100 per house

18. Not to be that guy, but I’m already paying more

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