Tom Peterkin: The looming election appears to have electrified ministers' views of burying the Beauly-Denny line

THE prospect of the gigantic Beauly-Denny power line running through a picturesque and famous landscape has caused gnashing of teeth for at least seven years. At stake, according to the Tory and well-known Scottish patriot Murdo Fraser, are views of the Wallace Monument, the Sheriffmuir battlefield, the splendour of Stirling Castle and the Ochil Hills.

Also at stake, it could be argued, are the political careers of some of Scotland's most prominent politicians.

So when the energy minister Jim Mather told ScottishPower, one of the companies behind the line, that it should reconsider burying part of it underground, his SNP colleagues were quick to signal their approval.

Mr Mather clearly "understands the strong concerns of many of my constituents," said an SNP statement quoting the Nationalists' business minister Bruce Crawford, who just happens to be defending the marginal Stirling constituency in May. Presumably, Mr Crawford has been getting it in the neck from the locals, many of whom are deeply concerned about the impact that the huge pylons, some of which will be 200ft tall, will have on their community.

The statement included quotes from another SNP minister, Keith Brown, who remarked that he would support his constituents and push for "undergrounding". Mr Brown, the transport minister, just happens to be defending the Ochil constituency in May. Presumably, he's been getting it in the neck as well. The Beauly-Denny power line lies at the heart of the SNP's ambitious plans to power Scotland with wind and waves. Its 600 pylons will connect renewable generators in the north with the national grid.

ScottishPower, which is responsible for a 12-mile stretch of the line in the Stirling and Falkirk areas, originally ruled out burying the line for "technical, economic and environmental reasons". Now, in Mr Crawford's words, the energy company has been "sent back to the drawing board". But is that what has really happened? It is not within Mr Mather's gift to order ScottishPower to build some of the Beauly-Denny line underground. He has simply "asked" ScottishPower to "engage" with Stirling Council and "consider unexplored options, including partial undergrounding of the main line".

Funnily enough, Mr Mather has suggested that ScottishPower should include its proposals in a final submission by the end of June – some time after the aforementioned May election. Thus enabling SNP candidates to tell voters in the meantime that their concerns are being dealt with.

Labour's energy spokesman Lewis MacDonald has argued that if the Scottish Government was serious about ensuring that part of the line was underground, it had the chance to do so last year when it approved the project. So when Mr MacDonald said yesterday that the SNP was behaving in a "very cynical way" it is easy to see that an election must be looming.