Energy giant SSE sees UK dry spell hit water power generation
This was due to 'unfavourable weather conditions' affecting its hydro power stations, which work by harnessing the power of moving water to generate electricity.
SSE's hydro generation dropped by about 40% in the three months to June, compared with the same period a year ago.
Scotland has experienced a lack of rainfall, with regions in the east seeing the driest spring since 1964, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
SSE told investors that the dry conditions offset strong operational availability across its renewable power plants.
Meanwhile, the company welcomed 'clarity' from the Government's decision not to split the country into different energy pricing zones.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed earlier this month that the UK would retain a single national wholesale price for electricity but reform the current system.
SSE said in a statement to investors that the decision brings 'welcome clarity for both investors and consumers whilst sending a strong investment signal that reaffirms the UK as a world-leading renewables market'.
The form said its financial outlook for the year continues to be subject to weather, market conditions and plant availability, with the key winter months still to come.
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scotch whisky: 'No sign' US tariffs will increase to 25%
The US President has so far agreed a 10% tariffs on UK exports and 15% on EU ones. Across the Scotch whisky sector, there are concerns that this deal - which is believed to be costing the industry £4m a week - will lead to significant harm for businesses. READ MORE: Scotch whisky hopes rise after Trump pledges to talk tariffs Trump talks of 'great love' for Scotland during visit 'Scotland must switch whisky exports from America to Canada' The Secretary of State is currently leading a UK Government delegation to Germany this week to 'increase economic ties' with the EU. Mr Murray said it was important to point out that trade deals with the likes of EU and India, the largest growing economy in the world, will provide a 'great opportunity' for Scotch whisky. Yet, earlier on the programme, Scotland's public finance minister Ivan McKee warned that 25% tariffs could be imposed next year as a deal previously reached with America on temporary duty reliefs could be lifted. Between October 2019 and March 2021, the tariff imposed as a result of the Boeing dispute resulted in £600 million in lost Scotch whisky exports. A deal was eventually reached in 2021 to take the 25% tariff off the industry. However, Mr McKee said: 'That was done on a temporary basis and that runs out next year so it's really important that it is taken out of the picture permanently because when that was in place, that was a significant hamper to Scotch whisky exports. 'As the UK Government concludes the deal with the US Government, we would expect it to be 10% tariffs on whisky which is clearly something we wish wasn't there.' Mr McKee said he would hope this was not re-imposed but added: 'There's nothing but unpredictability when it comes to Donald Trump and tariffs so who knows what's happening.' However, Mr Murray insisted it is unlikely this would happen. Asked how likely it would be for 25% tariffs to be re-imposed on Scotch whisky, Mr Murray said: 'There is no sign of that at the moment.' He added: 'It's 10% tariffs on Scottish whisky. Yes, we would rather that was as close to zero as possible but ten percent is as low as anybody else in the world right now." Mr Murray said the Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been able to 'reset international relationships' to do a deal with the US on tariffs. He said: 'Many, including the First Minister, wanted us to walk away from the US president but it was really important in the national interest and in the Scottish national interest for us to have that relationship to do that deal. '10% is the lowest tariff in the world. We did the first trade deal it saved the steel industry, the car industry. 'Yes, 10% tariffs on Scotch whisky is disappointing and we will continue to champion the cause for the really unique position of whisky. "We don't want it to be subject to historic trade wars as it has been in the past. It is a really thriving industry.' Speaking about the US president's visit to Scotland, Mr Murray said it was a 'great privilege' to when he landed in the country last week. He said he was in 'no doubt' of Mr Trump's 'great love of Scotland', adding: 'That is something we should exploit in the national interest.' During his visit to Scotland, President Trump promised to 'take a look' at tariffs on Scotch whisky during his meeting with Starmer as he said he wanted Scotland "to thrive". Since then, however, no changes have been made to the current arrangement. Speaking on the radio today, the Secretary of State also said Mr Trump suggested he should join him at the press conference beside Air Force One when he arrived in the country, however, the Secretary of State declined. Mr Murray said: 'He did tap me on the shoulder and said, 'let's go and do this press conference together' which I declined…because it's not for me to do so. 'I don't think it was for me to speak to the American press pack who is travelling on Air Force One with the President of the United States.'
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
AI isn't to blame for the graduate jobs crisis
You should think about being a powerboat driver. Or perhaps a railway builder. Or, although it might not be great for your online dating profile, a sewage worker. On absolutely no account should you consider anything that requires a degree. Microsoft last week released a study of the careers that are most likely to survive the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI). It joins a whole series of reports pinning the blame for the graduate jobs crisis on super smart chatbots. But while there is a desperate shortage of vacancies out there, it is the Government that is to blame and AI is just a convenient excuse. If you graduated from university this summer, being a sewage worker was probably not vying with law, consulting or finance as your top career choice. According to Microsoft, however, perhaps you should be thinking about it after all. After examining 200,000 conversations with chatbots to determine which roles were most at risk from the rise of AI, it concluded that historians, translators and sales reps were the most likely to be replaced by machine, along with anything that traditionally required a degree. By contrast, blue-collar jobs were a lot safer, with pile drivers and dredge operators up there with the sewage guys at the very top of the 'safe for life' list. It turns out the chatbots don't want to get their hands dirty any more than the rest of us. It joins a host of reports pinpointing AI as the explanation for the terrifying collapse in graduate recruitment. The online jobs board Adzuna said only last month that the number of entry-level jobs on offer in May was down 32pc from three years ago, before ChatGPT and all its rivals were released. Meanwhile, we have now learnt that 'Mickey Mouse' degrees are paying less than ever. Figures released this week showed that 630,000 graduates are now collecting benefits, which hardly suggests their careers are accelerating into the fast lane. All those student loans are unlikely to be paid back. There is no question that the job market for new graduates is grim right now. It has always been tough to get your foot on the career ladder, but right now it is harder than ever. But should we really blame AI for that? In fact, there is a far simpler explanation. It is the Government that has no idea how the economy works that is the real problem. Over the year since it took office, the Labour Government has made employing someone, and especially a new graduate, about as unattractive as it possibly could be. In her first Budget, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, imposed a steep rise in the rate of National Insurance that employers have to pay, while reducing the threshold at which it starts to kick in. 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The Institute of Directors reported on Friday that business confidence had fallen to its lowest level on record, below even the levels reported during the Covid pandemic. With the outlook so bleak, the easiest thing for any company to do is simply to slash graduate recruitment. If you are not planning to expand, you don't need the extra people anyway, and at least it will save some money. Over time, AI will almost certainly change the labour market, and potentially radically so. It will automate a lot of routine white collar work, and that may eliminate some jobs. We should however, keep two points in mind before falling for too much of the hype. To start with, we have a couple of hundred years of industrial history to tell us that new technologies don't ever lead to a reduction in the overall amount of work available. We just find new stuff to do that we had not thought of before. And, just as significantly, it is surely far too early to see the impact on employment. Most companies are experimenting with AI and trying to figure out where it can help them. But very few of them have yet got to the stage of replacing their workers in droves. They don't trust it enough yet, and probably rightly so. The blunt truth is this. The Government has taken a wrecking ball to the jobs market. It has punished employers with tax rises, crushed the market with regulations, and killed growth stone dead. Against that backdrop, it is easy to blame AI for the shortage of graduate jobs. But it is really just a convenient excuse. It is destructive government policies that are really to blame. And we should focus on fixing that before telling all the English, philosophy and history graduates this summer to send their CVs straight to the sewage works.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
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