LABOUR’S new “nuclear tax” on energy bills will cost Scottish households £300 million over the next decade, it has emerged.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has imposed a new levy on energy bills to fund the spiralling costs of the Sizewell C power station in Suffolk.
Billpayers will be charged an extra £12 per year to fund the project, which has almost doubled in price to £38 billion.
The UK Government has also committed to a loan facility worth £36.6bn, which means the total cost could top £47.7bn.
That is more than the final cost of Hinkley Point C, which Greenpeace once dubbed "the most expensive object on Earth".
It comes despite Labour’s election pledge to cut energy bills, with the energy price cap rising consistently since October.
Graham Leadbitter (below, left), the SNP’s energy spokesperson, said “This toxic overspend now totals £48bn and Anas Sarwar has serious questions to answer as to whether he thinks it’s acceptable for Scots to foot the bill through higher energy bills – it is an absolute disgrace that energy rich Scotland will see Scots face higher energy bills because of a nuclear plant running over budget in Labour-run England.
“The Labour Party promised they'd cut energy bills by £300 yet they've soared on their watch – now we have the absurd situation where they've chosen to pile money into extortionate nuclear energy and are asking Scots to pick up the tab.
“Independent analysis shows this will cost Scottish households £300m in higher bills through a decade-long ‘nuclear tax’ all the while Scottish Labour refuse to acknowledge the white elephant in the room that they support these disastrous plans.”
Leadbitter said that Scotland “produces far more electricity that we can hope to use and our future is in renewables” and so had no interest in nuclear power.
He added: “We were told Grangemouth refinery in Scotland couldn’t be saved, yet we see a refinery in England protected, a steel works in Scunthorpe bailed out and now a nuclear power plant running twice over budget – it's no wonder Scots are increasingly asking how long we stay tied to this so called ‘Union of Equals’?”
The UK Government was approached for comment.
