![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/Nicola-Sturgeon-The-Scottish-First-Minister-previously-promised-the-country-cheap-energy-1555378.jpg?r=1643102537545\")
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Householders across the UK will find out in the next few weeks how much their gas bills are likely to increase in the coming year. The energy regulator is due to announce the new energy price cap, the maximum amount that suppliers can charge in Great Britain. It is generally expected to rise sharply as global energy sales have skyrocketed.<\/p>\n
In Scotland, polling by YouGov for Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) suggests that Scots are more than aware of the squeeze they may soon be under.<\/p>\n
The poll found that 48 percent are “fairly worried” about bills for their gas and electricity becoming less affordable, with 22 percent describing themselves as “very worried”.<\/p>\n
Back in 2017, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon looked to ease the country’s worries after she announced that Scotland would introduce a brand new publicly-owned energy company that would keep prices low, as close to wholesale as possible.<\/p>\n
She also claimed it would “of course” be using “renewables”, meaning rising gas or oil prices would not affect those Scots using this supplier.<\/p>\n
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Speaking at the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) conference in 2017, she said: “In our manifesto last year, we also pledged to explore the option of a new publicly-owned energy company.<\/p>\n
“The idea at its heart is simple” energy would be bought wholesale or generated here in Scotland, renewable, of course, and sold to customers as close to cost price as possible.<\/p>\n
“No shareholders to worry about, no corporate bonuses to consider.<\/p>\n
“It would give people, particularly those on low incomes, more choice and the option of a supplier whose only job is to secure the lowest price for consumers.<\/p>\n
“Conference, we will set out more detail when we publish our new energy strategy but I’m delighted to announce today that by the end of this parliament, we will set up a publicly-owned, not-for-profit energy company.”<\/p>\n
JUST IN<\/strong>: Brexit: ‘EU waffle’ over Ukraine silences doubters in the US<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n That Scottish Parliament term ended in May 2021, with no publicly-owned energy company in sight.<\/p>\n Scots — particularly those on low incomes — now look set to be seriously hit by rising prices.<\/p>\n At the time of the announcement, energy market firm Schneider Electric told the BBC that independent suppliers had reduced the dominance of the Big Six suppliers, but they could not always beat them on price because of the way the wholesale market works.<\/p>\n They said independent suppliers did well when the wholesale market fell because they were tracking the market more closely and their tariffs were more responsive — but when the wholesale markets rose they did less well and had to increase their prices.<\/p>\n According to the SNP’s 2021 manifesto, Ms Sturgeon’s plans for the energy company have not been scrapped.<\/p>\n Rather, they have been “halted” during the coronavirus pandemic, with efforts being “refocused” on a public energy agency.<\/p>\n The agency, it said, would “coordinate and accelerate” the delivery of heat and energy efficiency work as well as “informing and educating” the public on required changes.<\/p>\n In the last year, SNP activists have called on the First Minister to revive the plans and people have taken to social media to express their disappointment at the First Minister’s broken pledge.<\/p>\n Twitter user @HebrideanUK wrote: “Next time Nicola Sturgeon or any SNP politician moans about rising energy costs, remind them of this pledge announced in 2017.<\/p>\n “Rising gas or oil prices would be irrelevant, as it was going to be ‘renewable of course’.<\/p>\n “The SNP are great at announcements, c*** at delivering.”<\/p>\n DON’T MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n Sturgeon LIVE: Pressure mounts to axe mask mandate [REPORT] <\/span> @Cameron1701 added: “More fantasy spoken with no idea how to implement.”<\/p>\n Ken Patrick accused Ms Sturgeon of “failed promises” while @MarkMar2z just put a string of clown emojis.<\/p>\n @Bubtok simply wrote: “What? Another broken promise?”<\/p>\n Energy Secretary Michael Matheson, when asked if the Scottish Government had dropped their pledge altogether, said the party “had not anticipated” a great need for decarbonisation in 2017.<\/p>\n This is despite the Scottish Government having already set out a plan to “decarbonise” heat in 2015, and the UK Government in 2017 having published action plans for “industrial decarbonisation and energy efficiency”.<\/p>\n His claim also comes despite Ms Sturgeon insisting in her speech that the publicly-owned energy company would use renewables.<\/p>\n Yet, Mr Matheson told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “The reality is a public energy company will not resolve what are very serious systemic problems in the UK energy network and the UK energy system that the UK Government have failed to address over many decades.<\/p>\n “There’s been a significant change in both the market and what we now need to do to meet our climate change targets.”<\/p>\n Now, rather than a state-owned company, Mr Matheson said the Scottish Government hoped to move to a model based on district heating — taking heat energy from a number of different sources and passing it to consumers through insulated pipes.<\/p>\n He claimed that this would help meet the target of decarbonising the heating of more than one million homes and 50,000 businesses.<\/p>\n It is unclear when the Scottish Government plans to act on this.<\/p>\n This month, the Scottish Government urged Westminster that urgent action is needed to reduce energy hills including a cut in VAT.<\/p>\n Scottish ministers, in a letter, said there should be targeted support for those on low incomes.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/Scotland-Nearly-half-of-Scots-are-fairly-worried-about-their-energy-bills-3878362.jpg?r=1643102543166\")
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