The Cost of Running Down Nuclear Power in Scotland

That the Parliament regrets the continued opposition of the Scottish Government to the development of new nuclear power stations; notes with grave concern data published by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) showing that Scottish grid constraints added a record £342 million in charges to consumer bills in September 2026 alone, bringing total constraint costs for 2026 so far to £1.39 billion; understands that these costs, which arise when the network cannot transport power efficiently and require expensive rebalancing, are ultimately passed on to households and businesses; notes reports that annual balancing costs have risen more than six-fold since the retirement of Hunterston B Power Station and that NESO predicts these costs could double again by the end of the decade without urgent action on transmission and generation; believes that Scotland’s energy future relies on a pragmatic domestic energy mix that embraces new nuclear energy and safeguards jobs in the North Sea oil and gas sector through continued drilling, and notes the calls on the Scottish Government to drop what it sees as its ideologically driven stance against new nuclear sites and to work with industry bodies, including the Nuclear Industry Association, to deliver new Small Modular Reactors across Scotland.