Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Gordon Morgan, a member of the Common Weal Energy Working Group. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week
The new electricity grid must be built almost from scratch. A detailed plan shows this taking seven years and costing around £60bn.The key design, the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, must be agreed by both Scottish and UK Governments by the middle of next year. Planning consents are required and legislation to amend Scottish planning laws to streamline the process is needed.
If gas costs more, all electricity is bought at its higher price for that hour. So, the price of gas sets the “spot price” for the whole UK. The UK Government has consulted on an alternative approach whereby the “spot price” is set more locally in zones, which would correspond to the regional network operators. Scotland would be split into north and south, equivalent to the old Hydro and Southern Scottish boards.