The struggle for power

A community and 270 people’s livelihoods have been put on 12 months’ notice as Scottish Power announced yesterday (Monday 23 March) that it will be forced to bring Longannet’s closure forward to March 2016.

Unite had previously called for both Scottish and UK government interventions to resolve a dispute between the company and the National Grid.

“Our members’ are now suffering because of an economic power struggle they had no say or control over, while governments at both Westminster and Holyrood effectively left them to the mercy of the market, said Billy Parker, Unite senior industrial officer.

The dispute, over the cost of transmission connection, an estimated ÂŁ40m, would have protected the immediate future of 270 direct jobs.

“Longannet’s closure is a disaster for the workers and the local area because these skilled jobs and supply-chain benefits cannot be replicated in the current economic climate,” added Billy.

The power station in Fife was due to be decommissioned in 2020 but this date has now been accelerated after losing out on a contract from the National Grid.

The contract was to monitor electricity supply voltage and worth ÂŁ15m. It would have kept Longannet going until 2017.

The SSE-operated gas-fired power station at Peterhead won the contract at the expense of Scottish Power and a third bidder.

“This is symptomatic of the wider problems we have in our energy sector that have, quite frankly, been left unchallenged and unresolved by government for far too long,” added Billy.

Unite will be meeting the energy minister Fergus Ewing later this week.