UK: Keith Anderson Gives Evidence Regarding Draft Energy Bill

Keith Anderson, Chief Corporate Officer at ScottishPower, gave evidence to the Energy and Climate Change Committee in Westminster, regarding the draft Energy Bill.

Mr Anderson discussed the importance of investor confidence, and following the session he said:

“An evidence based process has thus far underpinned the setting of returns on renewable projects through the ROC banding reviews. This has successfully enabled the necessary debate between industry and Government resulting in ROCs being set at the right level to attract the necessary investment by providing a fair and stable framework for investment returns, whilst also representing value for money for consumers. We went through an exhaustive review using independently commissioned analysis to arrive at the initial proposals published back in October of last year , however the current delay in finalising this agreement is resulting in a number of very unhelpful rumours and speculation about last minute political intervention potentially leading to this evidence based outcome being overridden. 

“ If correct, this could set an unwelcoming precedent  for the UK energy sector and potentially have an adverse effect on investor confidence at a critical time for the UK energy industry. Up until now, we have prided ourselves at not having to factor in political risk to our UK investment decisions, but perhaps it is something we may need to consider in the future as we seek to invest billions of pounds in offshore, onshore and marine renewable energy projects. We want to help the UK to achieve its carbon reduction targets, and to do this we need certainty and consistency in energy market regulation.” 

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Offshore WIND staff, June 12, 2012; Image: ScottishPower