Independence is Good for Business - Energy

Last year, Scotland produced more renewable energy than the entire amount of electricity that the country used. Yet Scottish businesses and households are being charged extortionate energy bills.  

This isn’t just an issue for individuals. High energy costs are a major burden on businesses across Scotland, from farms and food producers to manufacturers and tech firms. When energy bills are unpredictable or unaffordable, businesses lose their competitive edge, investment stalls, and jobs are put at risk.

Scottish businesses pay the highest energy tariffs in the world. But businesses also suffer when their customers are made to hand over so much of their income to the power firms. 

Rural households in Scotland now face average annual bills of around £4,000 - double the UK average. That’s fuel poverty on an EU-leading scale (31% in Scotland compared to 13% in England), and it hits local economies too. When people are spending thousands just to heat their homes, they're not spending in shops, cafés, or local services. That affects small businesses directly

Scotland counts the cost of letting Westminster burn our oil wealth

Scotland has already lost billions in potential investment thanks to decades of poor energy management from Westminster. Aberdeen doesn’t resemble any other global oil capital - because Scotland never had control of the revenue.

While Norway built a trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund from oil profits - investing in infrastructure, innovation, and clean energy - Westminster used Scotland’s oil to fund tax cuts and policies that Scotland didn’t vote for.

Westminster sold our energy grid to the highest bidder without Scotland’s consent

In the late 1990s, successive UK governments that Scotland didn’t elect sold off Scotland’s energy grid and generating systems to multinationals, without Scotland’s consent. Nearly every other European country kept these assets under public control. We didn’t even get a say.

Now, Scotland’s energy system is fragmented, profit-driven, and inefficient. Private companies like National Grid have spent £9 billion in five years on shareholder returns - instead of investing in the infrastructure businesses need to grow.

Scottish Power and SSE, the firms that own Scotland’s transmission network, are part of a tangled web of stakeholders with no incentive to modernise or expand capacity in the areas that need it most. For example, pumped hydro storage, which could stabilise supply and reduce costs, is held back because it could dent profits. The same goes for zonal pricing, which would benefit the north of Scotland but cut into private margins.

As Energy Scotland convenor John Proctor put it: “You would not reform the gambling industry based upon the advice of casino owners.”

Now we are left with a power system that is rigged against the people 

Companies known as “vulture capitalists” bought these national assets such as the grid and English water companies. They used the guaranteed revenue stream to load up with debt and pay it out in dividends to shareholders.

Instead of investing in vital infrastructure, the largest private company involved, National Grid, has poured money into shareholder dividends and share buybacks - a staggering £9 billion in the five years to 2023. 

National Grid owns and managed the grid in England and Wales. It also manages the electricity transmission system in Scotland – although the ownership lies with two other private companies Scottish Power and SSE. This makes investment in the Scottish grid less profitable for National Grid. 

Privatisation created a complex network of stakeholders. They may have conflicts of interest - for example their opposition to zonal pricing, which would make energy cheaper in the north of Scotland. That could damage their profits. 

The energy scam that damages Scotland’s economy

The Financial Times reported last week that Scottish wind farms were paid not to produce 37 per cent of their planned output during the first half of this year, as the electricity could not be used locally or moved to where it was needed. The four terawatt hours of curtailed output in northern Scotland would have been enough to power all of Scotland’s households for the entire six-month period, according to research from energy analytics firm Montel.

Iceland has 12 sustainable data centres powered by cheap energy. But almost all of the data centres planned for the UK are in the south of England - where they will be powered with energy brought south from Scotland. All of this economic activity will contribute to the illusion that Scotland has a weak economy and can’t be independent. 

Scotland is getting ready to flip the switch

With independence, Scotland could build a modern energy system that supports both people and businesses. Lower energy costs would give manufacturers, tech firms, and food producers a clear competitive advantage. At the same time, communities would benefit from fairer prices, better infrastructure, and reinvestment rather than funding shareholder dividends.

In short, Scotland’s energy future isn’t just about affordability, it’s about economic strength, business opportunity, and national resilience. Independence gives us the tools to turn Scotland’s energy wealth into shared prosperity.