WIREDGOV

Full implications of potential closure must be considered.

Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, today stressed the need for clear steps to be taken to secure the future of Longannet power station in advance of a visit to the Fife plant this morning. 

Speaking ahead of his visit to Longannet Mr Swinney said:

“The Government’s objective is to secure Scotland’s electricity supplies through a balanced energy mix where conventional power stations play a key role alongside renewable energy. 

“Longannet plays a key role in security of electricity supply, voltage control and ‘blackstart’ capability as well as supporting over a thousand jobs and benefitting the Fife and wider Scottish economy.

“The Scottish Government is determined to do all that we can to avoid the premature closure of Longannet and our dialogue with National Grid and the UK Government has been focused on that objective.

“Given the significance of Longannet’s potential closure, it is in the public interest that all information relating to Scotland’s security of supply position is placed in the public domain, and is subject to independent scrutiny.

“There is a clear obligation to the public to be transparent about all of the facts and to publish detailed technical studies for Scotland.

“Experts advising the Scottish Government have questioned many of the assumptions made by National Grid. They believe these assumptions may be over optimistic, especially when capacity margins in the UK may fall to as low as 2 per cent this winter.

“Openness from National Grid and the UK Government is essential for the hundreds of employees at Longannet and those within the broader supply chain who must be able to scrutinise the rationale for decisions taken on this question.

“Given the Scottish Government’s responsibility for resilience we also need to be fully satisfied that the appropriate modelling of any changes in the timescale for ‘blackstart’ – restarting electricity supplies after a complete system failure – and the implication of those changes, has been undertaken.

“This situation illustrates why Scotland must no longer accept a position where our levels of electricity security are threatened by UK energy policies.

“Scottish electricity generators pay substantially more in transmission charges than equivalent generators in England and Wales. National Grid say that proposed changes that will reduce charges by one third but Longannet’s charges are forecast to increase from £40 million this year to £51 million in 2017 and 2018. That is why Longannet is threatened with premature closure and why jobs and investment are being lost to Scotland under the current UK regime.

“I look forward to discussing these issues with management and staff at Longannet today and hope that National Grid and the UK Government put all of the relevant information in the public domain before taking any decision.”

Notes To Editors

The Deputy First Minister will visit Longannet at 09:00 on Monday 16 March where he will meet with senior management tour the control room. You are invited to be represented. It would be helpful if you could make your attendance know in advance to Cristina Dello Sterpaio on 07557 848 722/Cristina.dellosterpaio@scotland.gsi.gov.uk