ELIZABETH Marshall’s letter (April 13) on electricity shortages makes sober
reading but echoes conclusions reached by most members of the Scientific
Alliance Scotland. Scotland’s electricity supply has survived up to now
thanks to the foresight of scientists and engineers who ran the old South
of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland hydro electricity
board. They placed two nuclear power stations, coal-fired and oil-fired
power stations mixed in with hydro that has ensured up until recently that
Scotland easily had a reliable supply. Frequent excess could be passed down
south and in the case of any short fall supply stability maintained from
the rest of the UK.
Margaret Thatcher broke up and privatised the electricity supply; potential
price was considered more important than supply stability. But it then
provided the opportunity for politicians to use electricity generation for
party political purposes and they were not slow in doing it. The
fundamental requirement of any civilised society is the provision of a
reliable electricity supply and that it be as cheap as possible because
economic activity jobs and general employment are utterly dependent on
price as the present situation with UK steel indicates.
Politicians have not acted responsibly, price has increased because of
political sentiment and desires to lead the world in supposed green
policies but at the expense of the people who live here.
It is time to put electricity generation back into the hands of qualified
scientists and engineers who understand how to ensure that Scotland
receives a stable abundant supply, to establish a uniformity of price
throughout and that electricity generation be removed from the onerous and
unnecessary policies that increase price.
Professor Tony Trewavas,
Scientific Alliance Scotland,
7-9 North St David Street,
Edinburgh.
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