Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for an assessment of the country's electricity supply.

The call to the UK Government comes after energy experts voiced concerns over the future of thermal generation plant in Scotland.

Scotland is a substantial net exporter of power to the rest of the UK, with 28% of all Scottish generation exported in 2013. However, the energy security is said to be compromised by high transmission charges as well as the absence of a regional capacity assessment and powers which would allow a separate reliability standard to be set. For example, Scottish generators, including Longannet, account for around 12% of the capacity connected to Britain's high-voltage electricity network, yet pay around 35% of the charges.


Ms Sturgeon has now written to Prime Minister David Cameron outlining her concerns.

She said: "It was clear from the meeting of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board today that industry experts are concerned about security of supply in Scotland and across the UK, and for the continued maintenance of electricity supplies in a robust manor. These issues need to be assessed and that is why I am calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to act.

"It is vital that the UK Government fulfils its statutory responsibility to monitor security of supply issues and does so in an open and transparent way. The actions we have proposed would enable proper public scrutiny of the situation in Scotland."

(JP/IT)