The UK Government will pledge today to move “urgently” to slash electricity bills for hard-pressed families in the north and north-east.
In a major victory for the Press and Journal’s Fair Deal on Energy Prices campaign, ministers will take action to ensure consumers in the region no longer pay higher costs than everywhere else in Britain.
They will announce in today’s Budget that a consultation will be launched immediately on a plan to cut about £30 from average bills for households across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, and the Highlands and islands.
It will be held over the summer, with officials aiming to implement reforms that would peg prices to a lower level by next year.
Combined with other government initiatives, the plan is expected to save bill-payers up to £70 a year.
Campaigners welcomed the move last night – but vowed to continue to fight for wider reforms.
The Press and Journal launched its energy price campaign last October amid fury at a surcharge on bills that has ensured that northern Scotland has paid more for power for years.
Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, revealed to the P&J in November that he had ordered officials to draw up plans to ease the burden on consumers.
Last night, the Liberal Democrat said: “As a Highland MP, I have made tackling the additional costs of living in remote rural areas a priority in government.
“I know from hearing the day to day experiences of Highlanders the huge impact of high electricity, transport and fuel costs on local people.
“And I know that the P&J have campaigned on electricity prices too.
“Bringing electricity costs down by around £30 a year could have a real impact on families across the north of Scotland, particularly when combined with existing UK Government schemes for reducing electricity costs across the region.
“Along with policies like the rural fuel rebate, as well as the UK’s continuing economic strength, our Highland voice is being heard at the heart of government which is making a real difference for people across the north of Scotland.”
The UK currently has 14 distribution areas for electricity transmission, with northern Scotland consistently paying the highest rates despite producing more power than it uses.
Politicians, campaigners and power giant SSE have all called for reform since the Press and Journal launched the campaign, while both regulators and ministers have vowed to investigate a major overhaul that would create a flat, national rate.
The Treasury’s proposal today does not go that far, but does promise to “urgently consult” on cutting the north of Scotland’s prices and pegging them to those of the next highest region, which is understood to be Merseyside and North Wales.
Mr Alexander believes that this initiative, alongside others such as the Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme, which already reduces bills by about £36, will ensure the region gets a fairer deal.
Councillor Angus Mccormack, chairman of Western Isles Poverty Action Group, has been campaigning for reform.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” he said last night.
“We’re always hearing about initiatives which go a little way to resolving the issue in the Highlands and islands, but nothing that takes us on a par with everyone else.
“We’re going to continue to press for a resolution that gives us the same costs in the Highlands and islands as everybody else.”