Eilidh Munro, the SNP candidate for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch in the upcoming Scottish Parliament election, has called for urgent action to reduce energy costs for households across the Highlands.
Her comments come as many homes in the region face rising bills, particularly in rural communities where heating oil rather than mains gas remains the main source of domestic heating.
Munro warned that Highland households are often hit harder by rising energy costs than other parts of the country because of the region’s reliance on off grid fuel sources.
She said reforms are needed at UK level to address the way electricity prices remain tied to gas costs and to tackle higher standing charges paid by many rural households.
Munro also called for a price cap to be introduced on heating oil and LPG to protect households facing sudden price increases.
Commenting on the issue she said:
“We are facing, again, the stark consequences of the UK Government’s lack of action on fixing our broken energy system.
“We’ve seen heating oil costs double practically overnight, and we could face huge hikes in our other energy bills too, with the price of electricity remaining tied to gas costs.
“The escalating conflict in the Middle East is pushing global oil prices upwards, and that is feeding directly into the cost of heating homes, not to mention fuelling our cars, across Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
“The Highlands produce huge amounts of energy for the rest of the country, and it’s not right that the people who live here are left paying the highest prices for it.
“Energy policy is reserved to the UK Government, and frustratingly, they seem totally unwilling to take decisive action.
“But I believe there are other policies we could put in place in Scotland to help support communities in the Highlands, particularly those hosting energy infrastructure.
“I want to see the suggested rate of community benefit per megawatt hour be increased significantly, as well as pushing companies to include community part ownership options for proposed projects though making these mandatory would require action on the UK Government’s part.
“We should also look to develop new frameworks where communities affected by energy infrastructure would see their energy bills directly reduced, through voucher schemes for example, looking to other parts of Europe where this has been achieved.
“I also believe communities should be notified when a large landowner is intending to lease land to a developer, giving communities the opportunity to lease or buy the land instead for their own renewables project or housing development, based on existing community land buyout principles.
“We need to continue balancing the needs of the Highlands’ tourism economy and natural environment with grid upgrade and future energy production requirements, and we need to think creatively about how best to do this going forward, perhaps through the designation of key areas where additional limits could be imposed on any future proposed developments.
“Ultimately though, to bring about the change we need to our energy landscape, we need the full powers of an independent country to bring bills down for our households and local businesses for good.”
Munro said the Highlands already produces large amounts of energy but local communities often see little direct benefit from the infrastructure built around them.
She argued that stronger community benefit payments and potential part ownership of energy projects could help ensure local areas share more directly in the economic benefits of renewable energy development.
The proposals form part of a wider debate around how energy policy affects rural areas where distance, climate and infrastructure create additional pressures on household budgets.
Energy policy remains reserved to the UK Government, though the Scottish Government retains powers over planning, renewable development and some elements of community energy policy.
Munro said new ideas and stronger collaboration between governments and communities would be needed if long term solutions are to be found.
