Argyll and islands face highest energy bill rise
With news households in Argyll may face some of the highest energy bill rises in the country, council leader Robin Currie has called on the UK Government to urgently help hard-pressed households cope with bills, writes Sandy Neil.
Councillor Currie, who represents the Kintyre and the Islands ward, joined six other local authority leaders from the Highlands and Islands in writing to UK Government ministers asking it to change the approach to electricity distribution.
Energy regulator Ofgem will lift the price cap in April, meaning that energy bills will rise on average by £990 each year. However, households in the Highlands and islands, including Argyll and Bute, will face significantly higher increases, with some bills rising by almost £1,700.
Councillor Currie said: ‘It is completely unacceptable that people should have to worry about making choices between eating or heating. These basic needs cannot become out of reach - urgent action is required.
‘I have joined other council leaders in writing to Kwasi Kwarteng and Michael Gove, urging them to look at changing electricity distribution. Action is needed to bring it in line with the likes of gas and telecoms, and share the cost of energy distribution across the UK.
‘The UK Government can show that it is serious about the Levelling Up agenda by doing what it can to right another very serious inequality between this region and the rest of the country. The Highlands and Islands area is a net exporter of energy to the rest of the UK and, because of its weather and winter daylight hours, has a greater energy need.’
The impact of the price cap lift of 54 per cent means average energy bills in Argyll and Bute could reach £3,186, which is more than 60 per cent higher than the UK average of £1,971.
This month Holyrood finance secretary Kate Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, outlined plans to give 73 per cent of Scottish households (those in council tax bands A to D and those eligible for council tax reduction) a £150 payment, with a further £10m to be targeted at people struggling with fuel bills.
The UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak also announced a ‘rebate and clawback’ scheme, which gives all households a one-off £200 discount off their energy bills in October – but then it must be paid back by £40 a year over the next five years.
SNP MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Alasdair Allan, called on UK ministers to commit to much stronger action to protect island households from the ‘devastating impact’ of the latest fuel price cap rise. Western Isles homes would be impacted to an even greater extent, he said, as most local households have to pay energy costs 30-50 per cent above the price cap rate as it is. Some estimates point to household bills increasing in the Hebrides by up to a ‘staggering’ £1,500 a year from April.
Dr Allan said: ‘While the UK Treasury’s energy bills rebate is a start, it is unfortunately nowhere near enough to be of real help to households who are going to be forced to somehow absorb this huge extra cost. Many families are already experiencing fuel poverty, particularly in the Western Isles.
‘This is going to push more and more island households into having to choose between eating and heating, which is utterly unacceptable.’