Figures have revealed that energy bills in Aberdeenshire, Shetland and Orkney are among the highest in the UK – with some paying nearly £1,400 above the price cap.
The cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine has created a perfect storm that has driven energy prices through the roof.
Data from the online comparison site Compare the Market showed that, on average, residents in Shetland were paying £2,642 for gas and electricity – the highest of any local authority in the UK.
Taken between June 2020 and June 2021, the figures could now be even higher due to more recent world events.
This is despite the energy price cap – which was raised in April – being set at £1,277 in October 2021. It is currently £1,971.
Shetland ranks last, meaning the most expensive, out of 408 local authorities for how much they are paying for energy, with Orkney 407th, Aberdeenshire 403rd and Highland 390th.
Meanwhile, Moray is 355th, the Western Isles are 272nd and Aberdeen City is 256th.
‘This is a serious problem in Shetland’
The data was gathered from energy quotes during the period with the average calculated from the top five cheapest prices.
Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart said: “These figures show just how much of a serious problem energy costs are in Shetland.
“It is unacceptable that the cap has been exceeded, probably as a consequence of the number of off-grid households in Shetland using heating oil, which is not covered by a cap on costs.
“Heating is an essential utility, and more must be done to bring the price down before we move into the winter months.”
While the northern isles can connect to the National Grid, many homes still rely on heating oil. Many rural homes on the mainland also rely on oil tanks.
Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael added: “The fact that we pay roughly double the supposed price cap tells a simple tale – that heating oil needs to be included under that price cap umbrella to prevent these extreme prices.”
This could help over 1.5 million people living in rural and isolated communities with their soaring bills.
Orkney MSP Liam McArthur said: “Our islands make an enormous contribution to renewable energy production, yet people in Orkney continue to be landed with some of the highest energy bills in the UK.
“This situation is not sustainable or acceptable. What we need now is for the UK Government to step in and apply the energy cap to heating oil.”
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, said: “I have constituents coming to me daily on the cusp of breaking with the pressures they are facing with this situation.
“We need a Highlands and Islands specific fuel cap policy which takes into account the varied fuel sources and the needs of people.
“Assistance with insulation is also desperately required to cut the amount of fuel people need to use to heat their homes.”
Shetland residents are paying 106.9% more than the price cap.
Following a campaign launched by the P&J in 2015, then Chancellor George Osbourne set up a consultation on energy prices in the north.
However, plans were quickly dropped after the 2015 general election.
Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, said: “People across Scotland, including in Aberdeenshire, are paying the price for sky-high energy bills, despite Scotland having an abundance of resources in oil and gas and renewables.
“Under Westminster control, the vast revenue from Scotland’s oil and gas industry has been squandered by UK governments for decades and now it is consumers in Aberdeenshire who are getting hammered with higher average energy bills, with bills here being the seventh most expensive in Great Britain.
“This is also a result of the outrageous and expensive transmission charges that are charged in Scotland for companies to access the national grid here.
“High fuel bills in Aberdeenshire and across Scotland lie squarely at the door of the Westminster government.”
UK Government has been approached for comment.
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