Electricity transmission charges continue to spark debate across Scotland
By Jamie McRorie
THE UK has set a legally binding target of achieving net zero by 2050. Doing that will require a significant increase in the use of renewable energy, but the way that generators have to pay for the cost of using the transmission network can be a real disincentive to investing in such projects.
Energy suppliers and generators pay transmission network operators for the right to use the transmission system, which includes the cost of maintaining and building the network's physical infrastructure. They then pass all of these costs on to billpayers.
These 'TNUoS charges' (Transmission Network Use of System) total approximately £4.4billion per year.
The regulatory background to all of this is complex. Indeed, the Court of Appeal, which has plenty of experience with difficult and complex matters, has described the system as being of 'byzantine complexity'. And this matters, because TNUoS charges raise extremely important questions for renewable energy projects, both now and in the future.
The system is designed to ensure that each generator pays a level of TNUoS charges that reflects how much it costs them to use the network, as this incentivises them to use it efficiently. Electricity generators therefore pay a locational charge as part of their TNUoS costs, which reflects the cost of electricity being added to the grid at different geographical points.
As a result, a renewable energy project in the north of Scotland, which can generate a lot of energy but is far away from the places where most of it is consumed, might pay more than its counterparts in England and Wales. The rules also include a process to be used when a company wants to change its transmission charges: it has to propose amendments to the underlying regulatory code documents, and these proposals are then assessed by the regulator, Ofgem. Several such proposals are currently progressing through the system.
For Ofgem, the decisions are difficult. Amendments can have significant consequences for electricity generators (depending on their business model, type of generation, and physical location), and the regulator needs to weigh up many difficult and competing issues.
For example, should charges be even more closely linked to location? This would provide an incentive to shift generation away from areas where grid capacity is low, but in practice that means discouraging new investment in renewable energy projects and potentially even threatening the UK's net zero ambitions.
The mere possibility of such changes is already having an impact on renewable energy projects throughout the UK, both those that are planned and those that are already in operation.
And generators also face the prospect of another challenging development: wide-ranging changes to the process by which generators can access and connect to the grid. It all creates uncertainty for those developing and investing in renewable energy projects.
Ofgem recognises the need for strategic reform to transmission charging, including improvements to the current TNUoS system. It has also acknowledged that charges can be unpredictable, and that this may hinder investment decisions. In May 2022, it created the TNUoS Task Force, with a brief to focus on making transmission charges more stable and predictable.
The Task Force has modelled several different options, including both fixing and flexing TNUoS charges, but these ideas have yet to be implemented in a meaningful way.
At a time when the focus really needs to be on clean energy deployment, the consistency, predictability and overall fairness of UK transmission charges are issues which need to be resolved in short order if we are to keep progress moving in the right direction.
■ Shepherd and Wedderburn is headline sponsor of All-Energy, the UK's largest renewable and low-carbon energy exhibition and conference, taking place in Glasgow on 14–15 May 2025. Visit the All-Energy hub at www.shepwedd-allenergy.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Our two-tier justice system is turning Lucy Connolly into a martyr
Court of Appeal judges may believe that they were right to deny early release to Lucy Connolly, the 42-year-old Northamptonshire childminder who is serving 31 months in prison for an offensive tweet about asylum seekers. But even if they maintain that her sentence was just, I think they would have been wise to let her out anyway – for a simple and pragmatic reason. Keeping her locked up is eroding public faith in the justice system. Because, almost every single day now, we read of criminals being convicted of what seem like far worse crimes than hers – and yet somehow avoiding jail. Indeed, some of them manage to avoid it more than once. In 2022, a paedophile in South Shields admitted three charges of 'making indecent images of children' (as the law calls it), as well as one charge of possessing extreme pornography (which involved bestiality). As the judge at the time noted, however, 'You identify as transgender and that has caused issues for you and anxiety for you in how you would cope with that if you were sent immediately to prison.' Well, I suppose it would, although why we're meant to worry about prison being unpleasant for paedophiles, I'm not sure. But at any rate, he wasn't sent to prison. And nor was he sent there this week, when he was hauled back to court after breaching a sexual harm prevention order. On this occasion, the judge (a different one this time) said: 'You would undoubtedly be at risk of physical or sexual assault in custody because of your presentation in a male prison.' These words are of course wonderfully kind and compassionate. But, just for a moment, let's set aside questions of 'identity', and ask: which do we think is the worse crime? Writing something horrible on the internet about asylum hotels? Or downloading images of children being sexually abused – thus boosting the market for such images, and ensuring that more children will be sexually abused in future? Now, I haven't conducted a nationwide opinion poll on the above question. But I'm fairly confident that I can guess what the result would be. And I'm equally confident that I'm not alone in remembering the name 'Lucy Connolly' every time I read about some thug or pervert sauntering off with a suspended sentence. I don't for a moment deny that what Mrs Connolly wrote was awful. Nor do I deny that she broke the law. Yet our two-tier justice system is contriving to turn her into a martyr. So, even if the powers that be have no sympathy for her, they should at least look after their own interests. Which means letting her out. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Convicted nurse appeal 'straightforward', court told
The appeal of a former nurse who was convicted of murdering four elderly patients is a "straightforward" case, the Court of Appeal has heard. Colin Campbell, formerly known as Colin Norris, was found guilty in 2008 of killing four women by injecting them with insulin and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Doris Ludlam, 80, Bridget Bourke, 88, Irene Crookes, 79, and Ethel Hall, 86, were inpatients on orthopaedic wards where Campbell worked in Leeds in 2002 and developed unexplained hypoglycaemia. However, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which referred the case to the Court of Appeal four years ago, said prosecutors had relied on a "wholly circumstantial" case. Campbell, originally from Glasgow, was also found guilty of attempting to murder another inpatient, with his sentence carrying a minimum term of 30 years. On the 13th day of the appeal hearing in London, judges heard closing submissions from Campbell's barristers. In written submissions, Michael Mansfield KC said: "The appellant submits that this is a straightforward case in which this court must conclude that these convictions are unsafe." Campbell, who denied any wrongdoing and said he did nothing to cause hypoglycaemia, unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction in 2009 and applied to the CCRC in 2011. James Curtis KC, representing the Crown Prosecution Service, told the court there were "certain matters to which we take exception" from the defence's closing submissions. "There are a number of matters that I would seek to issue corrections on, things we firmly disagree with my learned friend on," he said. The appeal before Lady Justice Macur, Sir Stephen Irwin and Mr Justice Picken is due to conclude on Friday. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. New evidence may prove nurse's conviction 'unsafe' HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Disabled woman took her own life after benefits wrongly stopped, coroner finds
A disabled mother took her own life after her benefits were incorrectly stopped, a coroner has concluded. Jodey Whiting, 42, left notes to her family members, saying she had no food, could not afford her bills, and that she had "had enough", an inquest heard. The mother-of-nine had a hospital stay in December 2016, after contracting pneumonia, that meant she missed a letter about her benefits, saying she needed to be medically assessed. In January 2017, Ms Whiting was told she had missed the medical assessment and she was therefore judged to be fit to work. As well as losing her Employment and Support Allowance, she would also lose housing and council tax benefits. An initial inquest into her death in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, in 2017 did not consider the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) role in ending her benefits. Ms Whiting's mother Joy Dove fought a long legal battle for a second inquest, going all the way to the Court of Appeal. Ms Dove said when she saw her daughter two days before her death in February 2017, she was "shaking and crying" and threatened to kill herself. She told the hearing at Teesside Magistrates' Court the loss of benefits contributed to her daughter's death. "I know my daughter and I know it was (that)," she said. "It was the fact she couldn't find a job, the worry of paying bills, and being pushed out after being so vulnerable all those years and years." Wrongly withdrawn benefits 'was trigger' Ms Dove told the inquest that her daughter - who had six grandchildren - had a brain cyst, chronic pains, a drug dependency, and poor mental health. She added that Ms Whiting became increasingly housebound in the last years of her life. Read more from Sky News: On Monday, coroner Clare Bailey concluded that Ms Whiting's death was suicide "in the context of a deteriorating mental state, precipitated by the withdrawal of state benefits". The coroner added: "Her actions were in the context of her benefits having been wrongly withdrawn by the DWP in circumstances where there had been five missed opportunities to avoid the significant errors. "This had the effect of negatively impacting upon her mental health, and was the trigger to her taking a fatal overdose," the coroner added. 'It should not have taken an eight-year fight' After the hearing, Ms Dove said she "always believed that Jodey took her life due to failings by the DWP" and the coroner had "confirmed that mistakes made by the DWP in the way they handled Jodey's case caused her death". "It should not have taken an eight-year fight for justice to get where we are today," she said. "It has been an uphill battle trying to get answers and accountability, but I would never give up. "I was determined to keep fighting for justice for Jodey." An Independent Case Examiner report into the judgment to remove Ms Whiting's benefits discovered several mistakes were made, that her payments should not have been cut, and recommended the government compensate her family with £10,000. Helga Swidenbank - a DWP director for disability services - said: "I was not in post at the time, but those who I have spoken to are deeply regretful and sorry about what happened. "There were a number of opportunities to have picked up concerns about Jodey, and we are very sorry about that." She added that the DWP has "more work to do" in regard to focusing more on people's vulnerabilities. Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
