ScottishPower today welcomed the comments from the Business and Enterprise Select Committee on the need for urgent investment in generating capacity in the UK – a situation which they said could lead to an “energy crunch” in the medium term.

Last week the Committee concluded in their report:

“Generating capacity equivalent to nearly a third of current electricity demand will be made redundant by 2020. It will need to be replaced. We believe that in the current economic climate, there is a high risk that the energy companies will not be able to raise the finance necessary to build this. It is the Government’s job to ensure security if supply.”

The Report continued:

“A reasonable level of profit by the big energy suppliers will be a precondition of this investment taking place.”

Responding to these comments in the Report, ScottishPower Chief Executive Nick Horler said:

“The issue of energy security and the associated investment required to keep the lights on, is one of the most important issues facing our country. With 15GW of existing generating capacity forecasted to close by 2015, the UK Government recently estimated £100billion worth of investment is required to bridge the energy gap.

“Ensuring a balanced and sustainable energy portfolio, requires investment in all generation technologies including thermal and improving the network infrastructure.

“For this £100billion of investment to become a reality, there clearly needs to be adequate returns to invest in what are challenging credit conditions.

“This economic climate necessitates more so than ever, the need for global investors to have confidence in regulatory stability continuing to prevail in the UK market. The UK has a strong track record in this respect. With the energy gap looming ever closer, time is not on our side and industry and Government must continue to work together to meaningfully address the “Energy Crunch” issue”.

Media information: Simon McMillan 0141 566 4875 / 07753 622 257