Sturgeon ‘was warned of power firm dangers’

NICOLA Sturgeon ignored UK energy giants who warned that a state-run power firm could distort the market.

This week the First Minister announced plans for a publicly owned company to sell gas and electricity by 2021, which will offer lower prices than the Big Six providers. According to experts, it will cost taxpayers millions to set up, and yesterday it emerged that energy bosses had warned ministers it was ‘not appropriate’ for the Government to supply power.

They made the intervention in a submission to the Scottish Government’s draft energy strategy. SSE, one of the Big Six, welcomed the SNP leader’s announcement this week.

But, in a submission to ministers earlier this year, bosses claimed ‘this is not appropriate at a larger scale as it risks distorting the market and deterring private investment’.

The Scottish Government said: ‘The views given under the consultation will continue to feed into the development of our energy strategy and our plans for a new energy company.’