Wednesday 12 December 2012

Davey thinks Scottish bills would go up if it leaves the UK

Energy Secretary Ed Davey believes bills in Scotland will go up if the country becomes independent.

Speaking at a Scotsman Conference yesterday, Mr Davey suggested subsidies for renewable energy would be shared by the 2.6 million households in Scotland rather than the 26 million across the UK.

Mr Davey said: “We will be working up a number of papers looking at the benefits of Scotland in the UK and showing how Scotland benefits from being in the UK. It will show the benefits of being able to support the costs across 26 million households.”

He added: “It is logical that bills will go up and we are talking about a significant amount,” reported the Scotsman.

His claim was strongly countered by Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing who said a single energy market was likely to continue if Scotland breaks away, adding “the UK needs Scottish energy”.