Election 2021: Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch candidates tell us how they would deal with the problem of fuel poverty in a region that experiences extremes of weather leaving many out of pocket or else turning off their heating when they need it most
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
In the final edition of our series asking the candidates about the key issues affecting the north ahead of Thursday's election to the Scottish Parliament we hear how each of the Holyrood hopefuls would tackle fuel poverty in the Highlands.
Tensions over new on-shore wind turbines across the north, including in the Great Glen, have been mounting in recent years. The region produces a huge volume of renewable energy but locals have been over-charges as it is reimported at greater cost.
On top of that, prevailing weather conditions mean the region is generally colder so the need to switch on the heating is higher while being more expensive despite so much of that power being generated within a stone's throw of many households.
John Erskine, Scottish Labour Candidate
That a quarter of households in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and across the Highlands and Islands are living in fuel poverty in 2021 is nothing short of a scandal.
Every winter we hear of cases of elderly people, low-income families and individuals who are forced to choose between heating their homes properly or eating properly.
This is a choice that no one should have to make.
Scottish Labour and I support establishing a national energy company that can give direction and inject investment on a large scale, driving new generation capacity and working with local supply chains, engaging councils and local communities under common ownership.
Despite assurances from the SNP , the Scottish Government failed to meet their own statutory target to eliminate fuel poverty.
We agree that an Energy Efficient Scotland Bill would give clarity and confidence with new investment in energy efficiency, including a commitment to eradicating fuel poverty by 2032, with stricter interim targets.
We also need a new definition of fuel poverty that includes an uplift for rural communities and a minimum standard of energy efficiency in private rented sector housing of an EPC rating of at least C by 2025.
Planning laws should be used to ensure that all future houses are built to the highest available efficiency standards. The elimination of fuel poverty should be achievable in an energy-rich Scotland, but it requires political commitment and credible plans to achieve it.
Only Anas Sarwar can stand up to Nicola Sturgeon’s arguments of divisions and keep the parliament focused on recovery and tackling fuel poverty.
If you want a country focused on what unites us, not what divides us then use you second vote, on the peach ballot paper, to back Anas Sarwar and Labour’s national recovery on Thursday 6th May.
Kate Forbes, SNP Candidate
It is a scandal that Highlanders are living in fuel poverty, when much of the nation’s energy is generated on our front door steps. Usually, the Highlands are classed as ‘remote’. When it comes to energy generation, we are the very centre.
A few weeks ago, it was announced that 97 per cent of Scotland’s electricity came from renewables. That is tremendous – but it is Highland wind and water that is generating that energy. It is well documented that Highland consumers pay more per unit of energy than elsewhere, with too many Highlanders having to choose between heating and eating. The regulation of the energy market is entirely reserved to the UK Government and their interventions are long overdue.
Over the last few years the SNP have invested heavily in tackling fuel poverty, by improving the energy efficiency of homes and putting money into people’s pockets. Two years ago, the SNP passed a bill to tackle the root causes of poverty.
The Bill ensures that by 2040 no more than five per cent of households in Scotland will be in fuel poverty. Beyond that, we are investing in more housing, increasing investment in energy efficiency and doubling the Scottish child payment so that no child lives in poverty.
Jamie Halcro Johnston, Scottish Conservative Candidate
Almost twenty years ago, the then Scottish Executive set a target that fuel poverty would be eliminated in Scotland by 2016.
Five years on from that target date, we can look back and see that not only was the target missed, but that fuel poverty levels are now higher than they were when it was set.
Many people are still paying too much to heat their homes. Recent cold winters have been particularly harsh on Highland residents.
When the Fuel Poverty Bill came before the Scottish Parliament in 2019, I voted to ensure that new targets would be matched with accountability. Too often, the current Scottish Government has unveiled great ambitions in press releases - one example, a promised publicity owned energy company remains undelivered - before promptly forgetting about them. That simply isn’t good enough.
Energy efficiency will only go so far, and the next parliament will need to take seriously how we support rapid change in domestic heat generation.
And among those most at risk of fuel poverty are off-grid homes, which are far more common in our region. When rolling out new, lower emission energy solutions, these properties should not be left behind – they must, instead, be the priority.
That’s a positive for the planet – and a positive for people’s pockets too.
Denis Rixson, Scottish Liberal Democrat Candidate
Firstly there is the issue of the grid. Our network for the supply and distribution of electricity was never designed to cope with the issues and opportunities of 2021. It was intended to take power around the country. Today we take that for granted and now our priority is to maximise the use of renewable energy to cope with Climate Change. The existing system suffers from constraints which mean it cannot take advantage of all the new sources of supply. We need the UK and Scottish governments to work with Highland Council and the big power companies to optimise opportunity for the North of Scotland. The supply and distribution of cheap renewable energy is in all our interests.
The second part of the equation is what we do with that energy once we have produced it and can distribute it. Export depends upon a market existing for it at the price we can profitably supply it. In the event that we produce a surplus which we cannot sell then can we use it locally to produce goods that require lots of power? An example in the past was aluminium. A possible future industry is the production of hydrogen as a fuel.
Regardless of industrial use can we produce it cheaply enough to reduce fuel poverty? Parts of the Highlands suffer severe weather conditions – particularly in winter. People here spend a high proportion of their income on fuel and for those on low incomes fuel poverty is a major issue. They may live in draughty rooms in old houses with little or no insulation. Can we produce cheap renewable energy that could be used to alleviate household heating bills, either by grid supply or via district heating systems? But this won’t happen by itself. It will require market intervention.
Read more of our election coverage here
