A NEW report has revealed big regional divides in standing charges on standard electricity bills that will see customers in Scotland pay some of the highest charges in the UK - with consumers in South Scotland facing a 100% increase.
BBC analysis showed that the price per day in South Scotland for a Single Rate Electricity Meter from April 2022 will increase 24p to 47p.
In North Scotland, that rises by 22p a day to 48p a day - an 83% increase. With the exception of South Western England, Scotland already pays the highest standing electricity charges in the UK.
All consumer bills in the UK include a standing charge, a fixed daily payment which covers the costs of supply and other levies.
READ MORE: Case for indyref2 has never been stronger, Alex Salmond tells Alba conference
Regulator Ofgem caps these payments for consumers on standard default tariffs in Scotland, Wales and England but the cap varies by region.
It comes amid a separate report that the UK Government’s energy strategy has been delayed again - despite it having been promised this week.
The energy price robbery.
— Prem Sikka (@premnsikka) March 28, 2022
Not only are the energy bills rocketing, energy companies are using the crisis to massively hike standing charges too.
Profiteering on a grand scale.
Household budgets destroyed, millions impoverished, Govt does nothing.https://t.co/V0NUWc14Kn
The SNP have called on the UK Government to urgently reform the charging system.
The party said Scotland is unfairly penalised by Westminster’s transmission charges which see Scots pay the highest grid charges in Europe with one of the highest proportion of households off the grid due remote living.
This group are set to pay up to four times higher energy bills than the average household. This is further compounded by the surging energy bills that will hit everyone in the UK.
MP Drew Hendry has introduced the Energy Pricing Bill to the UK Parliament to address the issue of off-grid households.
Commenting, SNP energy spokesperson Alan Brown MP said: "Millions of families in Scotland already face a devastating blow to incomes as the Tory cost of living crisis spirals out of control, with energy and food costs rising higher and higher, and we unfairly pay the highest grid charges in Europe.
“Now we are set to be hit hardest by a rise in standard charges for electricity bills."
Scots are already facing sky-high energy bills
Brown said that instead of following the example of other countries across Europe and taking "meaningful action" to support people in Scotland and across the UK with the rising cost of living, the UK Government has delayed its energy strategy again and "missed the opportunity to support millions in its Spring statement".
He went on: “While the Scottish Government has launched the £4 million Home Heating Support Fund, uprated benefits by 6% and more than doubled the Scottish Child Payment to put money in people’s pockets, the Westminster government has delivered a raft of Tory cuts and a regressive tax hike, and failed to bring in anything that will support those that are being hit hardest."
READ MORE: SNP MP Alan Brown launches bill on 'mismanagement' of Scottish energy grid
He urged Rishi Sunak to do more, saying it's not too late for the Chancellor to reverse its £1040 cut Universal Credit.
The MP urged the Tories to bring in a Real Living Wage, match the Scottish Child Payment and uprate benefits by 6%.
"The market charging system also needs reformed because right now it prejudices Scotland," he said. "Scotland is an energy exporter to the rest of the UK - yet despite this our generators are hit with the highest grid charges in Europe and we face the highest charges in the UK to buy electricity.
“If Westminster fails to act, it will continue to make the case for independence. It is increasingly clear that the only way to keep Scotland safe from Tory cuts is to become an independent country, with the full powers needed to boost people's incomes and build a fairer society."
READ MORE: Transmission charges: Tories accused of 'Great Scottish Renewables Robbery'
The UK Government has been approached for comment.
Price per day for Single Rate Electricity Meter from April 2022 by British region in order of percentage charge.
London: up 8p a day to 31p - a 38% increase
Eastern: up 13p a day to 36p - a 58% increase
South East: up 17p a day to 40p - a 73% increase
North West: up 17p a day to 40p - 73% increase
Southern: up 18p a day to 41p - an 80% increase
Yorkshire: up 21p a day to 46p - an 81% increase
North Scotland: up 22p a day to 48p - a 83% increase
Northern: up 21p a day to 46p - an 85% increase
East Midlands: up 20p a day to 43p - an 88% increase
Midlands: up 22p a day to 46p - a 92% increase
South Wales: up 23p a day to 46p -a 94% increase
Southern Scotland: up 24p a day to 47p - a 100% increase
South Western: up 25p a day to 49p - a 101% increase
North Wales & Merseyside: up 23p a day to 45p - 102% increase
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