DOCSLIB.ORG

Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP the Scottish Government

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP the Scottish Government Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP First Minister of Scotland ~ St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH13DG The Scottish T: 08457741741 Government The Rt Hon Chris Huhne MP Secretary of State Department of Energy and Climate Change 3 Whitehall Place London SW1A 2AW )t))- March 2011 Dear Chris Project TransmiT: Academic Reports I am writing following the roundtable review on 4th March of the draft reports from the Project TransmiT academic teams who are providing views on the optimal approach to transmission charging in the GB system. As energy economists, we both recognise and appreciate the temptation to produce charging models based on pure economic principles. But as Ministers, we both equally appreciate the pressing reality of the need to develop charging models that will deliver our shared policy outcome of a low carbon generation mix in both Scotland and the UK. I appreciate the challenge of academic and economic modelling within the policy reality of what Governments want to achieve. But I am concerned that some of the views emerging from the academic work could undermine the overarching policy aims of Project TransmiT: to put in place charging arrangements that facilitate the timely move to a low carbon energy sector, and provide safe, secure, high quality network services at value for money to consumers. I am disappointed, but not wholly surprised, the draft study from the Electricity Policy Research Group at Cambridge University again reflects their long held views on locational marginal pricing. This model, with potentially significant locational targeting of both short and long run costs would exacerbate the existing locational imbalance facing renewables generators in locations of highest resource. I suggest locational pricing can also compound complexity and variability in charging. As with locational charging, locational pricing can give perverse pricing signals to more remote parts of the networks, especially where large scale investment has been made or is required (e.g. the planned east and west coast offshore HVDC links between Scotland and England). I am disappointed the academic team from US Universities is suggesting further compounding locational imbalances through a combination of locational marginal pricing with an additional element of targeting constraints costs at generators behind constrained grid network boundaries. I think we are both clear the review of transmission charging must be carried out against the reality of the "Connect and Manage" solution to grid access delivered by the UK Government in August 2010 and it is unhelpful to seek to revisit the principle of socialisation of constraints costs that is now helping to connect new renewable generation. I was, however, interested in some of the US thinking about a "plan and price" approach. This envisages a long term planning approach to required future generating mix, supported by limited use of locational signals where appropriate to deliver this. I think this is one idea worth exploring further. I note that the Strathclyde University study also favours a locational element in the future charging regime. I also note it is the only study that assesses charging methodologies other than locational marginal pricing. It is also the only study that identifies the need to consider a future locational approach in the context of the wider policy framework within which the future charging regime must work and the wider regulatory and market reforms currently underway in the Electricity Market Reform. I appreciate and understand the arguments for a locational element in a transmission charging methodology. But the need for renewable generators to locate in areas of highest resource must be a significant mitigating factor. I am firmly of the view that the locational element should not be the extreme - and arguably penal - locational signal the current system delivers for generators in Scotland. I believe the effectiveness of the charging signal to generators where to locate must also be considered alongside a signal to encourage low carbon generation in the areas of highest resource. As I have argued before, if there is a locational signal in the charging methodology, it must be more equitable. An effective approach could be to smooth the locational variance through a banded approach to charging through a lower "collar" of -£5p/KwH and an upper "cap" of +£5p/KwH. I would suggest more detailed consideration be given to this option. I am concerned the proposed charging models from the Cambridge and the US studies would compound the high transmission costs and prolong the system constraints faced by developers in Scotland. Both models would primarily favour generation close to centres of demand or where the network does not need reinforcement. Both models would fail to address the scale of the challenge Scottish, UK and EU Governments have set in meeting renewable energy and climate change targets. Both models would slow down, rather than accelerate diversification of the generating mix and security of electricity supply by acting as a barrier to renewables deployment across the GB system. The complexities and possible consequences of each of the academic workstreams need to be understood in much more detail. They are lacking in evidence of the practical outcomes of the different charging regimes, locational marginal pricing in particular. I understand there are arguments that locational marginal pricing may contribute to significant underinvestment in grid development (as has proved to be the case in the United States), be a brake on renewable energy deployment, and have a significant adverse impact on security of supply in some areas (again, the United States' record of blackouts does not support a compelling argument for locational marginal pricing). The academic reports are a useful contribution to the academic debate, but there is a disconnect between the academic debate and the policy reality of making the transition to a future low carbon generating mix. Before any of these proposals is considered in detail, we must have a more robust assessment how the suggested models would actually work in practice and with particular emphasis on what, as policy makers, we want them to deliver. Like you, I am keen the review of transmission charging is thorough, open minded and delivers fundamental change capable of supporting our overarching policy goals on security of supply and renewable energy delivery. I am also keen that our review of transmission charging delivers a more transparent and less complex charging methodology. I therefore remain to be convinced that some of the academic teams have given sufficient consideration to tackling this complexity, the realities of the future low carbon generation policy aims of Governments, and the regulatory frameworks and charging mechanisms needed to deliver this. I am sending a copy of this letter to Alistair Buchanan and the review team at Ofgem. ALEX SALMOND.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Spice Briefing
    MSPs BY CONSTITUENCY AND REGION Scottish SESSION 1 Parliament This Fact Sheet provides a list of all Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who served during the first parliamentary session, Fact sheet 12 May 1999-31 March 2003, arranged alphabetically by the constituency or region that they represented. Each person in Scotland is represented by 8 MSPs – 1 constituency MSPs: Historical MSP and 7 regional MSPs. A region is a larger area which covers a Series number of constituencies. 30 March 2007 This Fact Sheet is divided into 2 parts. The first section, ‘MSPs by constituency’, lists the Scottish Parliament constituencies in alphabetical order with the MSP’s name, the party the MSP was elected to represent and the corresponding region. The second section, ‘MSPs by region’, lists the 8 political regions of Scotland in alphabetical order. It includes the name and party of the MSPs elected to represent each region. Abbreviations used: Con Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Green Scottish Green Party Lab Scottish Labour LD Scottish Liberal Democrats SNP Scottish National Party SSP Scottish Socialist Party 1 MSPs BY CONSTITUENCY: SESSION 1 Constituency MSP Region Aberdeen Central Lewis Macdonald (Lab) North East Scotland Aberdeen North Elaine Thomson (Lab) North East Scotland Aberdeen South Nicol Stephen (LD) North East Scotland Airdrie and Shotts Karen Whitefield (Lab) Central Scotland Angus Andrew Welsh (SNP) North East Scotland Argyll and Bute George Lyon (LD) Highlands & Islands Ayr John Scott (Con)1 South of Scotland Ayr Ian
    [Show full text]
  • I Bitterly Regret the Day I Comgromised the Unity of My Party by Admitting
    Scottish Government Yearbook 1990 FACTIONS, TENDENCIES AND CONSENSUS IN THE SNP IN THE 1980s James Mitchell I bitterly regret the day I comgromised the unity of my party by admitting the second member.< A work written over a decade ago maintained that there had been limited study of factional politics<2l. This is most certainly the case as far as the Scottish National Party is concerned. Indeed, little has been written on the party itself, with the plethora of books and articles which were published in the 1970s focussing on the National movement rather than the party. During the 1980s journalistic accounts tended to see debates and disagreements in the SNP along left-right lines. The recent history of the party provides an important case study of factional politics. The discussion highlights the position of the '79 Group, a left-wing grouping established in the summer of 1979 which was finally outlawed by the party (with all other organised factions) at party conference in 1982. The context of its emergence, its place within the SNP and the reaction it provoked are outlined. Discussion then follows of the reasons for the development of unity in the context of the foregoing discussion of tendencies and factions. Definitions of factions range from anthropological conceptions relating to attachment to a personality to conceptions of more ideologically based groupings within liberal democratic parties<3l. Rose drew a distinction between parliamentary party factions and tendencies. The former are consciously organised groupings with a membership based in Parliament and a measure of discipline and cohesion. The latter were identified as a stable set of attitudes rather than a group of politicians but not self-consciously organised<4l.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Justice Committee Petition PE1370
    Justice Committee Petition PE1370: Justice for Megrahi Written submission from Justice for Megrahi Ex-Scottish Government Ministers: Political Consequences of Public Statements On 28th June 2011 the Public Petitions Committee referred the Justice for Megrahi (JfM ) petition PE1370 to the Justice Committee for consideration. Its terms were as follows. ‘Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to open an independent inquiry into the 2001 Kamp van Zeist conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988.’ The petition was first heard by the Justice Committee on 8th November 2011. On 6th June, 2013, as part of its consideration, the Justice Committee wrote to Kenny MacAskill MSP, then Cabinet Secretary for Justice, asking for the Government’s comments on our request for a public enquiry. In his reply of 24th June 2013, while acknowledging, that under the Inquiries Act 2005, the Scottish Ministers had the power to establish an inquiry, he concluded: ‘Any conclusions reached by an inquiry would not have any effect on either upholding or overturning the conviction as it is appropriately a court of law that has this power. In addition to the matters noted above, we would also note that Lockerbie remains a live on-going criminal investigation. In light of the above, the Scottish Government has no plans to institute an independent inquiry into the conviction of Mr Al-Megrahi.’ At this time Alex Salmond was the First Minister and with Mr MacAskill was intimately involved in the release of Mr Megrahi on 20th August 2009, a decision which caused worldwide controversy.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints
    Published 23 March 2021 SP Paper 997 1st Report 2021 (Session 5) Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints Report of the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints Published in Scotland by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. All documents are available on the Scottish For information on the Scottish Parliament contact Parliament website at: Public Information on: http://www.parliament.scot/abouttheparliament/ Telephone: 0131 348 5000 91279.aspx Textphone: 0800 092 7100 Email: [email protected] © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliament Corporate Body The Scottish Parliament's copyright policy can be found on the website — www.parliament.scot Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints Report of the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, 1st Report 2021 (Session 5) Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints To consider and report on the actions of the First Minister, Scottish Government officials and special advisers in dealing with complaints about Alex Salmond, former First Minister, considered under the Scottish Government’s “Handling of harassment complaints involving current or former ministers” procedure and actions in relation to the Scottish Ministerial Code. [email protected] Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints Report of the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, 1st Report 2021 (Session 5) Committee
    [Show full text]
  • Pdf, 649.7 Kb
    Stands Scotland where she did? Scotland’s Journey back to statehood Joanna Cherry QC MP Wales Governance Centre Annual Lecture 27 November 2020 Noswaith dda. Thank you for inviting me to give this lecture. My pleasure at being asked has been tempered slightly by not getting the added bonus of a visit to Cardiff and Wales. But I hope that’s something that can be addressed when this pandemic is over or at least under control. And it’s great to be speaking at the end of a week when finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel thanks to the vaccines. My last trip to Wales was to give the fraternal address at the Plaid Cymru Spring 2018 conference in Llangollen. I greatly enjoyed the warmth and hospitality of my welcome. My only regret was that I was shamed by Liz Saville Roberts announcing to the whole conference that on the road trip up from London I and her other Scottish passenger had marred her usually healthy living habits by introducing her to the delights of Greggs pasties at one of the service station stops. It’s a great honour to be asked to give this speech. Since my election as an MP in 2015 I have benefited from the work of the centre and it’s been my pleasure to share platforms and select committee evidence sessions with Professors Richard Wynn Jones, Laura McAllister and Jo Hunt and to renew my acquaintance with Professor Daniel Wincott whom I first a long time ago when we were teenagers and he dated my best friend.
    [Show full text]
  • The Brookings Institution
    1 SCOTLAND-2013/04/09 THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION SCOTLAND AS A GOOD GLOBAL CITIZEN: A DISCUSSION WITH FIRST MINISTER ALEX SALMOND Washington, D.C. Tuesday, April 9, 2013 PARTICIPANTS: Introduction: MARTIN INDYK Vice President and Director Foreign Policy The Brookings Institution Moderator: FIONA HILL Senior Fellow and Director Center on the United States and Europe The Brookings Institution Featured Speaker: ALEX SALMOND First Minister of Scotland * * * * * ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 2 SCOTLAND-2013/04/09 P R O C E E D I N G S MR. INDYK: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Brookings. I'm Martin Indyk, the Director of the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings, and we're delighted to have you here for a special event hosted by Center on the U.S. and Europe at Brookings. In an historic referendum set for autumn of next year, the people of Scotland will vote to determine if Scotland should become an independent country. And that decision will carry with it potentially far-reaching economic, legal, political, and security consequences for the United Kingdom. Needless to say, the debate about Scottish independence will be watched closely in Washington as well. And so we are delighted to have the opportunity to host the Right Honorable Alex Salmond, the first Minister of Scotland, to speak about the Scottish independence. He has been First Minister since 2007. Before that, he has had a distinguished parliamentary career. He was elected member of the UK parliament in 1987, served there until 2010.
    [Show full text]
  • Survey Report
    YouGov / The Times Survey Results Sample Size: 1100 Adults in Scotland (16+) Fieldwork: 4th - 8th March 2021 Vote in 2019 EU Ref 2016 Indy Ref Voting intention Holyrood Voting intention Gender Age Total Con Lab Lib Dem SNP Remain Leave Yes No Con Lab Lib Dem SNP Con Lab Lib Dem SNP Male Female 18-24 25-49 50-64 65+ Weighted Sample 1100 205 152 78 366 568 283 415 514 176 145 42 418 182 145 52 438 529 571 143 435 274 249 Unweighted Sample 1100 226 157 82 416 602 277 395 504 191 143 47 434 199 148 54 456 522 578 145 433 287 235 % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % WESTMINSTER HEADLINE VOTING INTENTION 6-10 4-8 Westminster Voting Intention Nov Mar '20 '21 [Weighted by likelihood to vote, excluding those who would not vote, don't know, or refused] Con 19 23 84 7 8 1 17 40 4 40 100 0 0 0 93 6 3 0 25 20 12 16 27 32 Lab 17 17 5 64 20 5 19 16 8 27 0 100 0 0 3 88 11 2 16 18 18 15 20 19 Lib Dem 4 5 1 4 52 1 5 5 2 8 0 0 100 0 2 1 78 1 4 6 3 6 4 5 SNP 53 50 3 18 17 90 56 32 83 20 0 0 0 100 0 2 4 95 48 52 57 57 46 40 Green 3 3 0 6 3 2 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 3 3 6 4 1 2 Brexit Party 3 1 5 1 0 0 1 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 2 1 Other 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 3 1 0 1 HOLYROOD HEADLINE VOTING INTENTION Holyrood Voting Intention [Weighted by likelihood to vote, excluding those who would not vote, don't know, or refused] Con 19 22 80 6 18 1 18 38 4 39 93 3 10 0 100 0 0 0 25 19 13 17 24 31 Lab 15 17 10 59 15 4 17 18 8 26 5 87 4 1 0 100 0 0 17 16 14 14 20 18 Lib Dem 6 6 2 6 47 1 5 6 1 10 1 3 78 0 0 0 100 0 5 7 4 5 8 6 SNP 56 52 3
    [Show full text]
  • Members of Parliament from All Political Parties Support a Reduction in Tourism VAT
    MP SUPPORTER LIST, AUTUMN/WINTER 2016-2017 Members of Parliament from all political parties support a reduction in tourism VAT Name Type Party Name Type Party Mr Alun Cairns MP Conservative Mr George Howarth MP Labour Mr Andrew Bingham MP Conservative Mr Gerald Jones MP Labour Mr Andrew Bridgen MP Conservative Mr Gordon Marsden MP Labour Mr Andrew Turner MP Conservative Mr Ian Austin MP Labour Ms Anne-Marie Morris MP Conservative Ms Jessica Morden MP Labour Mr Ben Howlett MP Conservative Mr Jim Cunningham MP Labour Mr Byron Davies MP Conservative Mr Jim Dowd MP Labour Ms Caroline Ansell MP Conservative Ms Jo Stevens MP Labour Mrs Caroline Spelman MP Conservative Mr Justin Madders MP Labour Ms Charlotte Leslie MP Conservative Ms Kate Hoey MP Labour Mr Chris Davies MP Conservative Ms Mary Glindon MP Labour Mr Christopher Pincher MP Conservative Mr Paul Flynn MP Labour Mr Conor Burns MP Conservative Mr Robert Flello MP Labour Mr Craig Williams MP Conservative Mr Roger Godsiff MP Labour Mr Craig Tracey MP Conservative Mr Ronnie Campbell MP Labour Mr David Nuttall MP Conservative Mr Stephen Hepburn MP Labour Mr David Jones MP Conservative Mr Steve Rotheram MP Labour Mr David Davis MP Conservative Mr Steven Kinnock MP Labour Mr David Morris MP Conservative Mr Tom Blenkinsop MP Labour Mr Geoffrey Cox MP Conservative Mr Virendra Sharma MP Labour Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP Conservative Ms Yasmin Qureshi MP Labour Mr George Freeman MP Conservative Mr Alistair Carmichael MP Liberal Democrat Sir Gerald Howarth MP Conservative Mr Greg Mulholland
    [Show full text]
  • (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill
    1 House of Commons NOTICES OF AMENDMENTS given up to and including Friday 27 January 2017 New Amendments handed in are marked thus Amendments which will comply with the required notice period at their next appearance Amendments tabled since the last publication: 18-41 and NC53 to NC97 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE EUROPEAN UNION (NOTIFICATION OF WITHDRAWAL) BILL NOTE This document includes all amendments tabled to date and includes any withdrawn amendments at the end. The amendments have been arranged in accordance with the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill Programme Motion to be proposed by Secretary David Davis. NEW CLAUSES AND NEW SCHEDULES RELATING TO PARLIAMENTARY SCRUTINY OF THE PROCESS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM’S WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION Jeremy Corbyn Mr Nicholas Brown Keir Starmer Paul Blomfield Jenny Chapman Matthew Pennycook Mr Graham Allen Ian Murray Ann Clwyd Valerie Vaz Heidi Alexander Stephen Timms NC3 To move the following Clause— 2 Committee of the whole House: 27 January 2017 European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, continued “Parliamentary oversight of negotiations Before issuing any notification under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union the Prime Minister shall give an undertaking to— (a) lay before each House of Parliament periodic reports, at intervals of no more than two months on the progress of the negotiations under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union; (b) lay before each House of Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable a copy in English of any document which the European Council or the European Commission has provided to the European Parliament or any committee of the European Parliament relating to the negotiations; (c) make arrangements for Parliamentary scrutiny of confidential documents.” Member’s explanatory statement This new clause establishes powers through which the UK Parliament can scrutinise the UK Government throughout the negotiations.
    [Show full text]
  • Fact Sheet Msps with Dual Mandates 12 January 2016 Msps: Current Series
    The Scottish Parliament and Scottish Parliament I nfor mation C entre l ogo Scottish Parliament Fact sheet MSPs with Dual Mandates 12 January 2016 MSPs: Current Series This fact sheet lists all Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who currently hold a dual mandate. It also lists the MSPs that held dual mandates in previous sessions. Dual mandate is the term used to describe those MSPs who, in addition to their seat in the Scottish Parliament, also hold a seat in either the House of Commons (MPs), House of Lords (Peers) or represent a ward in their local council (councillors). This fact sheet lists the name of the MSP, their party and the constituency or region that they represent in the Scottish Parliament. It also lists the area that they represent in the House of Commons or in local government or their title (if they are a peer). Finally, this document also provides information on the start and end dates of dual mandates. It should be noted that no MSP has held a dual mandate through also holding a seat in the European Parliament. Abbreviations used: C Constituency Con Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Green Scottish Green Party Lab Scottish Labour LD Scottish Liberal Democrats R Region SNP Scottish National Party Session 4 MSPs with Dual Mandates (5 May 2011 to date) MSPs who are also MPs Name of MSP Party MSP for MP for Additional Notes Alex Salmond1 SNP Aberdeenshire Gordon East (C) MSPs who are also Members of the House of Lords Name of MSP Party MSP for Title Additional Notes Annabel Goldie Con West Scotland (R) Baroness Goldie of Bishopton MSPs who are also Councillors Name of MSP Party MSP for Councillor for Notes Lesley Brennan2 Lab North East Scotland Dundee East End MSPs in Session 4 who were also Councillors Name of MSP Party MSP for Councillor for Notes Did not stand for re- election in George Adam SNP Paisley Paisley South 2012 local council election Did not stand for re- election in Clare Adamson SNP Central Scotland (R) Wishaw 2012 local council election 1 Alex Salmond was elected in the general election on 7 May 2015.
    [Show full text]
  • Official Report
    MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT Wednesday 18 May 2011 Session 4 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament‟s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.scottish.parliament.uk or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000 Wednesday 18 May 2011 CONTENTS Col. BUSINESS MOTION ........................................................................................................................................... 21 The Minister for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy (Bruce Crawford) ............................. 21 FIRST MINISTER ............................................................................................................................................... 23 The First Minister (Alex Salmond) .............................................................................................................. 23 Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab) .................................................................................................................... 25 Annabel Goldie (West Scotland) (Con) ...................................................................................................... 27 Willie Rennie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD) ................................................................................................ 28 Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green) .............................................................................................................. 29 Margo MacDonald (Lothian) (Ind) ..............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Committee on the Scottish Government Handling Of
    Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints Alex Salmond c/o Clerk to the Committee Former First Minister Room T1.03 The Scottish Parliament Edinburgh EH99 1SP BY EMAIL [email protected] 7 July 2020 Dear Mr Salmond, I am writing to you in my capacity as Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Committee on Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, to invite you to provide written evidence to the Committee’s inquiry. The details of all of the forms of information that the Committee is requesting is in Annexe A. The written evidence submitted will inform decisions on which witnesses to call to give oral evidence before the Committee, and in what order. As you will be aware, the Committee was established with the following remit: “To consider and report on the actions of the First Minister, Scottish Government officials and special advisers in dealing with complaints about Alex Salmond, former First Minister, considered under the Scottish Government’s “Handling of harassment complaints involving current or former ministers”1 and procedure and actions in relation to the Scottish Ministerial Code.2 The Committee has published a written statement on the handling of information and evidence, which is in Annexe B of this letter. Please refer to this statement for information on how the Committee will handle personal data provided in your submission. The statement also explains what personal data is not required. Where this applies to your submission, we request that you submit the evidence in a suitably anonymised format. It has also agreed a general initial approach to its inquiry which should provide useful context for your submission which is in 1 Policy on handling of harassment complaints involving current of former ministers 2 Scottish Ministerial Code 1 Annexe C.
    [Show full text]