THE Scottish Government is "monitoring" the risk of power blackouts and energy supply issues, The National can reveal.
It emerged on Tuesday that households across the UK could face four days of shutdowns as part of “worst-case scenario” emergency planning ahead of winter.
The UK Government’s document suggested that if a perfect storm of a drop in gas imports and below-average temperatures occurs, it could lead to organised blackouts for industry, and possibly some households.
The Scottish Government said that it is looking at the situation north of the Border and is in regular contact with the National Grid.
It comes as experts have predicted that inflation will peak at 13% and energy bills will reach £3582 in October when the energy price cap rises. Meanwhile, Kit Malthouse, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, admitted that some hospitals in England are preparing for fuel shortages.
The National put the possibility of organised power blackouts in Scotland caused by supply chain issues this winter to the Scottish Government and asked how likely they are to occur.
A spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the National Grid, who are responsible for managing and maintaining our energy supply across the UK, to monitor the situation.
“As would be expected, the National Grid, alongside the UK Government, have undertaken a range of modelling to analyse our anticipated energy needs over the winter months and are confident the UK’s requirements will be met in full.”
Earlier, Malthouse told Talk TV that the Westminster government is making plans for “all sorts of contingencies across public services”, including hospitals, and a government source told The Mirror they did not expect blackouts to take place, adding that it was an “extreme scenario”.
Meanwhile, a Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy claimed that reports of potential blackouts were “wilfully misleading”, despite being contained in their own emergency planning documents.
The impact of rising energy prices is set to be felt more acutely in the north and rural areas, where customers tend to pay higher costs than their counterparts across Scotland.
A study earlier this year by the firm Compare Boiler Quotes found that Argyll & Bute has the highest combined gas and electricity prices per year at £1842.06. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (£11754.80), Highland (£1711.91), Aberdeenshire (£1580.49) and Perth and Kinross (£1557.89), rounded off the top five most expensive areas.
It comes as Ofgem announced it will change the energy price cap every three months instead of six, with one consultancy group suggesting this means bills for a typical household could hit £4266 in January.
The Scottish Government spokesperson added: “We are acutely aware that people across Scotland, including in our rural and island communities, are facing hugely challenging increases in energy bills, together with wider cost of living pressures.
“We are committed to using all powers and resources available to us to support households. Our cost of living support funding includes £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund to help households at risk of severely rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely.
“Westminster holds most of the powers needed to tackle the cost of living crisis as well as borrowing and resourcing powers we do not currently have. This includes energy, the minimum wage, National Insurance and 85 per cent of social security spending.”
It comes as Simon Clarke, Chief Secretary of the Treasury, said that the UK Government is working on a cost-of-living support package for the next prime minister to “consider” when they take office.
However, opponents have criticised the current “zombie” administration under Boris Johnson and called for a plan to be put in place immediately. The next Tory MP to take on the post of PM will not be announced until September 5.
For the past week, leadership contenders Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have been bickering over whether cutting taxes or providing direct support to households will help mitigate the worst of the crisis.
The Scottish Government has urged anyone worried about paying their utility bills to contact the free Home Energy Scotland advice service.
