ScottishPower chief calls for transparency over reform plans

By KRISTY DORSEY
Published on 15/09/2012 00:00

ONE of Scotland’s top energy executives has renewed calls for greater “transparency” in forthcoming electricity market reforms designed to unlock the £100 billion of investment required by the sector in the next ten years.

ScottishPower chief corporate officer Keith Anderson said the flagship reforms due to go before the UK parliament in November needed to spell out specifics such as timing and funding mechanisms. Although this autumn’s bill will only be a first draft, addressing such particulars at an early stage would reassure investors and allow them to plan accordingly.

“If what we get is a draft bill that is very high-level and very vague, it will not be the kind of document that we need,” he said.

Speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Anderson conceded that power companies needed to communicate better about the scale and cost of upgrades described as the most important overhaul of Scotland’s electricity network in more than 50 years. He also said greater unity was needed between industry, government, regulators and the public as to how the country can achieve sustainable and secure power supplies.

“Right now, we don’t think that consensus exists,” said Anderson, who also heads the international offshore renewable business of Iberdrola, ScottishPower’s parent company. “That is a debate that needs to carry on.”

His comments came as the Scottish Government threw its weight behind Westminster’s plans for electricity market reforms, albeit with come caveats. MSPs unanimously backed a motion calling for co-operation on the reforms following a debate yesterday in Holyrood.

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