SNP members to push for zonal energy pricing campaign from Scottish Government

SNP members are set to push the Scottish Government to assess the benefits of zonal energy pricing – and launch a campaign calling on the UK Government to implement it.

The news comes from a motion which appears on the provisional agenda for the SNP national council, which will be held in Perth on December 7.

Party delegates, leaders, and office bearers are set to meet in the city’s concert hall to discuss and vote on policy, and the provisional agenda was distributed earlier this week.

One of the motions on the document deals with zonal pricing, where consumers would pay less for their electricity the closer they live to the infrastructure generating it.

Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson has said that Scotland “would have some of the cheapest electricity in Europe” under the system – rather than the flat national rate currently in use. Former Conservative energy secretary Claire Coutinho set out proposed measures to switch to zonal pricing for electricity in March.

However, earlier this week energy firms said that upgrades to the grid would wipe out any benefits of a pricing change. 

The motion proposed for SNP council calls for the Scottish Government to "assess the feasibility and benefits to Scotland of zonal pricing for electricity across the UK".

It adds: "If feasible, council further calls on the Scottish Government, the SNP Westminster group and the party, to launch a campaign demanding that the UK Government implement zonal pricing."

A motion on the SNP national council agenda calls for equity stakes in Scottish renewablesAnother motion on the agenda would call on the Scottish Government to explore “achieving equity stakes in renewable energy projects and companies”, as well as reconsider setting up a publicly owned Scottish energy company.

Other motions on the provisional agenda include:

• Increasing the basic rate of pay for Scottish councillors from £21,345 per annum to £24,581, in line with the recommendations of the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) from February 2024.
• Funding scholarships for “at least 100 disadvantaged students” from the global south to study in Scotland each year.
• Establishing a National Research Institute for Scotland, which would work in conjunction with the UK Research and Innovation body.
• Extending crofting legislation to cover all of Scotland in order to create “affordable access to land for new entrants to farming”.
• Bringing in free bus travel for care workers.
• Changing “equalities mechanisms” to support the election of more BAME, disabled, and women candidates to both national and local governments.
• Making the SNP Climate and Environment Group an official affiliated body of the party.

SNP members have until November 25 to submit amendments to the 20 proposed motions in the provisional agenda, before a final version is published on November 29.

The national council will meet in Perth Concert Hall on December 7.