A group of experts have concluded that the UK’s single energy market ought to continue if Scotland becomes independent.
The Commission on Energy Regulation said the current system “could and should” remain in the event of a Yes vote on September 18.
It said combined regulation of single electricity and gas markets operates in other parts of the EU and could work here.
The independent commission, appointed by the Scottish Government last July, said the country could also take a “more radical approach” to tackling fuel poverty and high energy bills.
The government’s white paper on independence, published last November, claims it is in the “common interest” for Scotland to stay in the UK-wide market for electricity.
It also proposes that consumers in England and Wales would continue to subsidise wind farms through their bills.
“In the event of independence, there are undoubtedly issues that will have to be settled between the two administrations,” said commission chairman Robert Armour, a former chairman of business group SCDI.
“Looking to Europe and beyond, we found working models of cross-border partnerships delivering jointly-regulated integrated markets that show single markets can work with goodwill and cooperation.
“We are moving to a more decentralised system with the potential for greater innovation, consumer engagement, better demand management, and more targeted solutions.”
Armour said eradicating fuel poverty was an “intractable challenge” and Scotland’s natural potential made it a “cost-efficient place” to develop renewable resources.
“We see a benefit to both Scotland and the rest of the UK in enabling this economically efficient development of renewable potential to continue,” he added.
First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the “detailed and authoritative” report which will be discussed at a meeting of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board in Aberdeen today.
“Scotland is a resource-rich country and it offers safe and secure supplies of electricity and gas, and can continue to assist the rest of the UK in meeting its legally-binding renewable energy targets,” he said.
A spokesman for pro-UK campaign group Better Together said the idea that energy consumers elsewhere in Britain would continue to pay for Scottish wind farms if the country left the UK simply was not credible.
“The facts are clear – pooling and sharing our resources across the whole of Britain keeps costs down for Scottish families.
“If we leave the UK then investment in green energy here would fall or energy bills would increase rapidly.”
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