Current status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 19 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted an analysis of any potential economic impact on Scottish businesses of the disparity in transmission impact assessment thresholds between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain.
To date, the Scottish Government has not undertaken analysis on the potential economic impact on Scottish businesses of the disparity in transmission impact assessment thresholds between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain.
Scotland’s transmission network operates at a lower voltage than the transmission network across the rest of GB. This difference has existed since the 1970s when the 132kV electricity network in England and Wales was transferred from the central electricity generating board to electricity distribution companies, while the same process has not been undertaken in Scotland. The differences in voltage, alongside the network being heavily constrained in Scotland, mean that projects looking to connect, even small embedded generation, could cause impacts on the network that risk the network being unable to operate safely and efficiently.
Transmission owners are licenced by Ofgem and one of their licence obligations is to develop and maintain an efficient transmission network. This includes ensuring that the network can operate safely.
The Scottish Government engages regularly with Ofgem and NESO to ensure transmission infrastructure delivers for Scotland. This includes exploration of the TIA threshold, and consideration of the impact that this has on energy users in Scotland. SSEN increased the TIA threshold from 50kW to 200kW in August 2024 to align with SPEN on the mainland.