Politics: Work needs to continue on storm resilience improvements for rural areas
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The recent Storm Otto highlighted the severe effect that climate change is having across the continent.
Every country in the world will be uniquely impacted by the increasingly extreme weather conditions that we face together.
Here in Scotland, we are being met with stormy weather conditions which can be quite manageable for some parts of the country, however, here in Banffshire and Buchan Coast, our constituency is without doubt being hit harder than almost anywhere else in the country.
Severe power outages, flooding, water outages, school closures, other public buildings being closed and multiple road closures, to name but a few of the issues being experienced in our coastal towns.
One of the biggest problems I sought to address following the severity of Storms Arwen and Barra was the impact that power outages were having across Banffshire and Buchan Coast.
I remember how my team and I were working round the clock to support people in need by organising food and water drop-offs, and essential charging stations so people reliant on medical equipment such as breathing apparatuses were swiftly supported to access power.
These are the real and legitimate problems caused by the impact of climate change and the increasingly dangerous storms hitting our coast on the north-east corner of Scotland.
I met with senior officials at SSE following Storms Arwen and Barra and asked how do we stop or at least minimise power outages happening across Banffshire and Buchan Coast?
The answer – put power infrastructure underground where it is protected from some of the worst adverse weather conditions.
I made that exact suggestion to SSE as an action point for them to address. There was a degree of pushback on the notion that truly investing in the long-term sustainability of providing power to homes was an unrealistic expectation.
The reason – it would cost billions of pounds of investment over a number of years.
The demands of climate change are going to continue to increase. That’s why it’s vital that each stakeholder entrusted with responsibility in providing vital services to the general public ensures preparedness to safeguard our population’s wellbeing.
The Scottish Government is doing its part by working with partners across the country to implement the Storm Arwen Review’s proposals, however, the organisations making enormous profits in the sector also have a huge responsibility to take preventative action and invest back – surely that is the minimum expectation for what the consumer is paying for?
Power companies have made enormous profits off the back of the public and there absolutely needs to be investment back into the communities which are particularly paying the most for their energy to ensure the sustainability of constantly providing power to those communities, particularly in Banffshire and Buchan Coast.
I note SSE made £716 million toward the tail end of 2022. My reasonable expectation is that when we pay for a vital service, the organisations we entrust to provide that, would invest back in to safeguard the service we are paying them to provide us.
Addressing these concerns will without doubt mitigate some of the troubles ahead. Energy providers need to plan and take action now and not let the situation continue to exacerbate for decades to come before their hand is forced.
I will be raising this at every level and using my voice as a MSP but I assure you I cannot do it alone – I need the support of the public behind me to also apply their pressure too.
Another issue I found is during an emergency situation at just how "bitty" crucial information was to source. Power outages, road closures, school closures, water outages and other issues – how is any one individual supposed to know how to seek support and stay on top of where to source this information?
Even as a MSP with a small but very capable staff team behind me, we found it difficult to immediately access this information.
Extreme adverse weather conditions are going to continue to become more frequent – we need to innovate and overcome the challenges presented to us.
I will be calling on various departments to come together to look at creating a "one-stop shop" during crisis situations like this.
There needs to be a more cohesive approach in this day and age between the stakeholders responsible.
