Lobby group urges reform on transmission charges

Transmission charges for projects on Skye are the highest in the Highland region

Electricity transmission charges act as a disincentive to renewable energy projects in the north of Scotland, a lobby group has warned.

Highlands and Islands Transmission Working Group (HITWG) wants the charges energy developers must pay to connect to the National Grid reformed.

The group said the costs of sub sea cables to connect islands schemes with the mainland would add to the burden.

It warned that the charges hit small, community-based projects the hardest.

HITWG has called for reform in a response to regulator Ofgem's wide-ranging review into the costs of supplying electricity to the National Grid.

The regulator has promised an "open, comprehensive and objective" review of the charges.

HITWG's members include Argyll and Bute, Highland, Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles councils along with Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

The group said transmission charges were too high and would only increase if developers also had to contribute significantly towards the costs of planned sub sea connections, which are known as bootstraps.

Renewable projects on Skye pay £23 per kilowatt (kw) - the highest transmission charges in the Highland region, HITWG said.

But the group warned: "It is estimated that the costs of the "bootstraps" could double this, and thus act as a disincentive to the development of the area's renewable energy resources."

It added uncertainty over levels of transmission charges could prevent community-based projects from marketing their surplus electricity.