LibDem Angus MacDonald: It costs four times more to heat my Highland home than my MP’s flat in London, as he warns of spiralling fuel poverty rates
MP Angus MacDonald has revealed that it is four times more expensive to heat his home in the Highlands than to heat the flat he has in London to attend Westminster.
The difference between the two, he says, is that his home is powered by electricity while the flat is powered by mains gas – something that is unavailable for 72 per cent of Highland population.
The difference between the two has left people in the region counting the cost and recording the second highest level of fuel poverty in Britain.
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Mr MacDonald said: “The highest rate is found in Na h-Eileanan Siar (57 per cent), followed by the Highlands (47 per cent)” while “in the latest estimates, around 13 per cent of households in England were classified as fuel poor”.
He added: “This is exacerbated by the fact that the North of Scotland has longer, colder, and windier nights than anywhere else”.
At the same time he states that “The Highland and Islands are playing a key role in helping Great Britain achieve its net zero ambitions.
“The rural Highlands is being industrialised with enormous turbines and pylons across our most beautiful landscapes. Most of the turbines are also built and owned by foreign companies, offering little for the residents who live alongside them.”
And what is the cause behind the difference between London and the Highlands? Mr Macdonald explained: “My parliamentary flat in London using mains gas costs 5.8p per kilowatt to heat, whereas my home in the Highlands electricity bill costs 23.7p per kilowatt, so all things being equal I’m paying four times as much to heat my property in the Highlands than in London.
“A huge factor in why the regions that generate so much cheap renewable energy suffer from the highest rates of fuel poverty is the disparity between electricity energy bills and mains gas.
“Hardly any one in the north of Scotland has mains gas – 72 per cent of the region is not connected. If you use electricity to heat your home, you are paying several times the price of gas. This is a serious problem.
“Generating electricity (most of which is renewable) is considerably cheaper than gas. So why do the bills not reflect this when they meet the consumer?
“Decoupling of electricity and mains gas is a common talking point, but a less spoken about issue is the Environmental and Social Obligation costs, which are levied far more heavily on Electricity Bills than Mains Gas.
Addressing the disparity between Mains Gas prices and Electricity Bills is a crucial part of addressing fuel poverty throughout the UK” It is not right that in the Highlands where increasingly Britain’s electricity is generated we pay four times what those in cities pay for their energy.
He said: “I have long campaigned for community benefits from renewable energy projects as a way of combatting fuel poverty and providing a fair deal for the people of the Highlands. However, this imbalance in energy bills has received far less attention.”
The solution he suggests is that five per cent of the gross revenue from “all renewable energy projects generating over one megawatt to be paid into community benefit funds.
“From onshore projects, two thirds of that should be paid to the affected council ward, with one third paid to a council infrastructure fund. from offshore projects, all of it should go to a council infrastructure fund”.
