Meeting of the Parliament 25 February 2015
The member has asked three questions. I will not be drawn into commenting on particular individuals, but if Mr Fraser can demonstrate that I have said anything that contradicts what I have just said, I will be very interested to hear it. Such comments do not exist.
I want to make some progress, because I have only seven minutes and I want to get to the meat of the issue. I point out gently to Murdo Fraser that there are a couple of difficulties with his motion, which, I am sad to say, is factually wrong. For example, it
“urges Scottish Power and National Grid to work toward a resolution of the transmission charging issue”.
Scottish Power and National Grid are not working towards any such resolution. The new grid contract sought by Scottish Power is not a resolution of the transmission charging problem, but simply a very limited stop-gap measure under the supplementary balancing reserve to enable Longannet to continue to operate. It only partly addresses the symptoms of a much deeper problem—that is, the discriminatory grid charges.
Let me introduce some facts into the debate. The grid charge for Peterhead is £22.97 per kW; for Longannet, £18.02; for Hunterston, £16; for Torness, £14; and for Eggborough in Yorkshire, £7.61. Didcot, which is in Oxfordshire, gets paid 83p, while Taylors Lane in London gets paid £3.78. That is the evidence. What does that mean? It means that, in addition to the legal obligations that I accept exist in respect of industrial emissions and carbon duties and which affect all stations, Longannet has to pay an extra £40 million.