The debate over Scottish independence has continued in recent months and now the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has spoken out to say that the people of Scotland face higher energy bills if they go with the “Yes” vote.
Ed Davey,Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has warned that energy bills will spiral if the people of Scotland vote in favour of independence. Ed Davey made the comments while launching the UK Government’s Energy Paper.
At the launch, Ed Davey built a strong case for staying with the UK’s single energy market. Ed Davey stated that because the UKs energy market is ten times the size of Scotlands, it helps to keep energy bills in Scotland lower. However, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change argued that if Scotland is to go it alone then energy bills would increase by a minimum of £38 and a maximum of £189 a year.
Moreover, Ed Davey argued that if the cost of supporting the Scottish renewables market was to fall on energy bill payers in Scotland then prices could soar for businesses. It was stated that a medium size business based in Scotland could see their energy bills rise to approximately £110,000 annually by 2020.
In his speech, Secretary of State Edward Davey said:
“The UK works better together, and our single energy market shows why. As a United Kingdom, we keep energy bills down for all consumers, regardless of where they live, and this works well, especially for people in Scotland.
“Without unrestricted access to the integrated GB market, the costs of supporting Scottish energy network investment, small-scale renewables and programmes to support remote consumers would fall on Scottish bill payers alone – this would add at least £38 to annual household energy bills and around £110,000 to energy costs for a medium-sized manufacturer in 2020.
“Right across the energy mix, Scotland benefits from being part of the UK’s strong, stable consumer and tax base – supporting thousands of jobs, creating new supply chains and cementing the energy sector as the engine room of the economy.”
The comments from Ed Davey have been supported by the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alistair Carmichael. Mr. Carmichael said that sharing infrastructure and research costs with the UK helped to keep energy prices down for Scottish people and that Scottish ingenuity was helping the UK to be a leader in developing a new energy mix for the future.