In a letter to energy secretary Amber Rudd, Phillips-Davies has once again called for the introduction of a single “national price” for electricity transmission charging, saying it would “make things far simpler for customers and facilitate switching and tariff comparison”.
SSE owns and operated the electricity transmission system in the north of Scotland, which faces the highest charging costs in the UK because of the large area it covers and the relatively small population it serves. These differences in transmission costs are then reflected regionally on consumer bills.
Phillips-Davies stated that “two-thirds of people support an end to regional pricing” and a switch to a single national charge, and that the move is “worth considering” and should form part of the government’s forthcoming consultation on distribution costs in the north of Scotland.
He added that under a national charging scheme, the network companies would still receive the same income for their necessary maintenance and investment work, but the cost “would be spread fairly and equitably across all regions”.
He noted that any change to this charging regime would require a change in the legislative or regulatory regime and a copy of the letter was also sent to Ofgem.
The call echoes that made by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in April, calling on the Westminster government to look at changing the “unfair” transmission charging regime.
This followed Scottish Power announcing the planned closure of the coal-fired Longannet power station, with “punitive” transmission charges cited as one of the reasons being the closure.
The SNP said transmission charges imposed by Westminster penalised Scottish electricity generators compared to generators in the south of England.