Scotland faces higher energy bills and taxes or cuts to public services like benefits, education and health if it leaves the UK, Energy Secretary Ed Davey will warn today.
The energy powering Scotland’s three million homes is subsidised by the 33 million homes across the UK, Mr Davey will tell the Scottish Renewables Annual Conference in Edinburgh.
Scotland would have to devote a larger share of its national budget to support renewable energy generation, he said in advance of the speech.
“I have no doubt, that with the talents of its people, and its natural resources, Scotland could make a go of it alone,” Mr Davey said.
“But the United Kingdom is greater than the sum of its parts.
“When it comes to energy, the positive case for Scotland in the United Kingdom is simple.
“The size of the United Kingdom protects Scottish consumers from the full costs of Scottish power generation.
“In the United Kingdom, Scotland’s households pay less than they would in Scotland alone.
“Why? Because, the UK’s integrated energy market is ten times larger than that of Scotland’s alone.
“Scotland has a tenth of the households in the UK as a whole.
“But over a quarter of all UK support for renewable generation goes to Scotland.
“These costs and subsidies are spread out over all 33 million households, not just Scotland’s three million.
“If Scotland were to choose to go it alone, maintaining this level of support would take up a greater proportion of national finances.
“Meaning either higher taxes, higher energy bills or cuts in other areas.
“Welfare, housing, education, health, defence – maybe losing out.
“As a United Kingdom, we act as a family. Those who need more, get more, supported by the whole.”
The Scottish Government said the claims are “inaccurate and misleading”.
A spokeswoman said: “The whole of the UK needs to produce and supply greater amounts of renewable energy to meet legally binding targets and help keep the lights on, and the costs of paying for this energy are spread across all electricity consumers – there are no taxation issues involved whatsoever.
“Furthermore, Scottish energy bills will go down in an independent Scotland because of the removal of the Energy Companies Obligation and the Warm Home Discount from bills.
“The current breakdown of payments from suppliers to generators is related to the huge amount of renewable power which Scotland produces – not to our population size. Suppliers in England and Wales will continue to need and to pay for that power for their customers regardless of the outcome of the independence referendum, and that is why the current single market arrangement remains in our shared interest.”
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