SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has used her 2017 conference speech to announce that the party is looking into plans for a not for profit, publicly owned energy company.
Ms Sturgeon confirmed that the pledge to explore the option, which appeared in last year’s SNP manifesto, would be taken forward.
She said more details would be set out in the government’s forthcoming energy strategy.
She said: “Energy would be bought wholesale or generated here in Scotland – renewable, of course – and sold to customers as close to cost price as possible.
“No shareholders to worry about. No corporate bonuses to consider.
“It would give people – particularly those on low incomes – more choice and the option of a supplier whose only job is to secure the lowest price for consumers.”
She also announced action to improve the environment, revealing the first “Low Emission Zone” to be set up by the Scottish Government will be in Glasgow.
Speaking at the party conference, First Minister spoke out about the global threat from climate change, and said: “Every industrialised country, large or small, must play its part to meet our collective duty to safeguard the environment.”
In a message to US President Donald Trump she added: “Let me be blunt about this. That applies just as much to the White House as it does to Bute House.”
Environmental campaigners recently described our programme for government as the greenest in the entire lifetime of the Scottish Parliament.
While she described tackling climate change as a “moral obligation” she also said there could be a “massive opportunity”, adding that Scotland could be a “world leader in the technologies that will drive forward the low carbon economy of the future”.
Ms Sturgeon said: “Jobs and investment are there to be won. So we are leading by example.
“We will end the need for new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032 – eight years ahead of the rest of the UK. An ambitious target, but one we know can be met.”
She added: “The lesson for our economy is this – by leading the way in using new technology, we send a message to the world that Scotland is the best place to develop it.”
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