Tory MP quietly unplugged from pylon role

A GOVERNMENT minister tasked with rolling out thousands of pylons across the UK lost his brief after expressing concerns about power lines planned for his own constituency.

Andrew Bowie, a Conservative MP, was made a minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in February last year. At the time, Mr Bowie’s role put him in charge of the UK’S energy network policy, but the brief was passed to fellow minister Graham Stuart in December.

The changes were not formally announced but were listed on the department’s website. Mr Bowie was given a new brief on renewables. According to Politico, however, the department confirmed in a Freedom of Information request Mr Bowie had raised potential conflicts of interest, described as “a large number of energy companies and organisations working in or on behalf of the energy sector within the minister’s constituency and surrounding constituencies”. Mr Bowie has represented West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine in Scotland since 2017.

Writing in a blog post last summer, Mr Bowie said that proposals to build a substation and pylons in his constituency had “proven to be controversial”.

He continued: “I firmly believe that this country sorely needs new energy infrastructure if we are to meet our net zero ambitions and ensure the United Kingdom’s energy security.

“However, these new infrastructure projects must always be completed with the consent of local residents and those responsible must engage with communities and consider their views.”

Some 300 towns and villages could be affected by a nationwide pylon rollout as the National Grid expands to meet net zero targets, according to government estimates. Local protest groups have sprung up around the country where new transmission lines have been planned. A social media post shared by Mr Bowie last week advertised a “pylon feedback session” with one such group, called Save our Mearns, in reference to an area of Kincardine.

Plans laid out in the Autumn budget could see those who live closest to pylons and new substations receive a £1,000 discount on their energy bills every year for a decade. Politico reported five figures in the renewables sector had linked the change in Mr Bowie’s brief to his concerns about the pylon proposals made for his local area.

Mr Bowie and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero both declined to comment when approached by The Telegraph.