Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing yesterday slammed the “unfair” charges on Scottish energy generators for using the transmission grid. His comments come as Ofgem announced plans to even out the charges generators pay.

Currently some Scottish generators pay more because in the past they generated energy further away from highly populated areas. Ofgem plans to change this to take into account the rise of renewable energy sources like wind power and tidal. This could see charges to Scottish generators drop by up to 60%.

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “Generators in the North of Scotland, often with the most significant renewables resource, face the highest transmission charges in the UK, while those in other parts of the UK are subsidised. I welcome the findings of Ofgem’s report showing that they now accept that the status quo is no longer an option.”