Gordon MP Richard Thomson has called for the UK Government to end 'unfair' Scottish energy charges
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A SCOTTISH MP has called on the UK government to stop the 'unfair penalisation' of people in the north of Scotland.
Gordon MP Richard Thomson has asked the UK Government to do more for Scottish people, after a recent UK Government report revealed a 'distortion’ in the Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme, resulting in bills of around £60 extra for those living in northern Scotland.
The SNP MP claimed northern Scotland was overlooked by the UK Government and called on them to rectify the issue and end the ‘unfair penalisation’ of Scottish energy producers who are charged more for transmission charges.
Gordon MP Richard Thomson has welcomed comments from the Acting Chief Executive of Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) that the UK Government should be focused on tariff reform so the price of gas – influenced as it is by outside factors, including Russia’s war on Ukraine - does not dictate the price of electricity.
Mr Thomson MP said: “The north of Scotland has been overlooked by the UK government for far too long, all at the detriment of the families and individuals who live and work here.
“Many people living in the north-east will be scratching their heads as to why, when they’re able to see clean renewable energy being generated from their back gardens, they continue to be charged more for electricity than anywhere else in the UK.
“It should be unthinkable that an energy-rich nation like Scotland also has unacceptable high rates of fuel poverty.
“That this latest additional energy penalty is down to yet another UK Government mistake, one that has punished people in the north of Scotland for years, is a disgrace and must be urgently rectified. I therefore very much welcome Mike Tholen’s comments in this regard.”
Read More: PM announces price cap on energy.
Speaking on the publication of OEUK’s Economic Report ‘A Focus on UK Energy Security’, OEUK’s Acting Chief Executive Mike Tholen said: “We are also encouraging the UK Government’s focus on tariff reform. Right now, our energy markets are being controlled by President Putin who is driving up the price of gas to break ours and Europe’s resolve over Ukraine.
"We cannot let that continue. We need to move away from a system that allows the price of gas to control the cost of electricity.”
