Scotland is bracing for rising gas prices

In the next few weeks, householders across the UK will find out how much gas bills are going to increase in the coming year. The energy regulator is due to announce a new energy price cap, the maximum amount that suppliers can charge in Great Britain. It is expected to rise sharply as global energy sales have skyrocketed.

In Scotland, polling by YouGov for Citizens Advice Scotland CAS shows that Scots are aware of the squeeze they may be under. The poll found that 48 percent are worried about bills for gas and electricity becoming less affordable, with 22 percent saying they were very worried. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon looked to calm the country's worries after she announced that Scotland would introduce a brand new publicly-owned energy company that would keep prices low, as close to wholesale as possible. She said it would be using renewables, so rising gas or oil prices wouldn't affect those Scots using this supplier.

The Scottish Parliament term ended in May 2021, with no publicly-owned energy company in sight. Scots — particularly those on low incomes — are set to be seriously hit by rising prices. At the time of the announcement, energy market firm Schneider Electric told the BBC that independent suppliers had reduced the dominance of the Big Six suppliers, but they could not always beat them on price because of the way the wholesale market works. They said independent suppliers did well when the wholesale market fell because they were monitoring the market more closely and their tariffs were more responsive - but when wholesale markets rose they did less well and had to increase their prices. Ms Sturgeon's plans for the energy company have not been scrapped, according to the SNP's 2021 manifesto. They have been stopped during the coronaviruses, with efforts refocused on a public energy agency. The agency would coordinate and speed up the delivery of heat and energy efficiency work, as well as inform and educate the public on required changes. In the last year, SNP activists have called on the First Minister to revive the plans and people have taken to social media to express their disappointment at the First Minister's broken promise. In 2017, HebrideanUK wrote: Next time Nicola Sturgeon or any SNP politician moans about rising energy costs, remind them of this pledge. The SNP are great at announcements and delivering and would be irrelevant if rising gas or oil prices were going to be renewable. Boris slammed for 'inexcusable' birthday party by MP INSIGHT EU, as the bloc prepares to CUT OFF the talks ANALYSIS Cameron 1701 added: More fantasy spoken with no idea how to implement. Ken Patrick accused Ms Sturgeon of failing promises while MarkMar 2 z just put a string of clown emojis. When asked if the Scottish Government had dropped their pledge, Energy Secretary Michael Matheson said the party had not anticipated a great need for decarbonisation in 2017. This is despite the Scottish Government having already set out a plan to decarbonise heat in 2015, and the UK Government in 2017 has published action plans for industrial decarbonisation and energy efficiency. Ms Sturgeon insists that the energy company will use renewables in her speech.

He claimed that this would help meet the goal of decarbonising the heating of more than one million homes and 50,000 businesses. It is not known when the Scottish Government will act on this. This month, the Scottish Government urged Westminster that urgent action is needed to reduce energy hills, including a cut in VAT. In a letter from Scottish ministers, they said there should be targeted support for those on low incomes.