Utility Week

12 | 23rd - 29th September 2016 | UtILItY WeeK Policy & Regulation Scots fi ght their corner Aside from the Brexit talk, and the fact that "Scotland didn't  vote for Brexit" as Scottish fi  rst  minister Nicola Sturgeon is  eager to remind her Westminster  counterparts, there is still a large  energy agenda for the SNP. Top of this is the demand for greater autonomy to be given to  Holyrood, as outlined under the  Smith Commission report. Whereas the UK government  has welcomed fracking, setting  out the regulations for it to go  ahead – provided any wells meet  environmental standards – the  SNP is vehemently opposed to  developing shale gas wells. The party is pro-renewables  and is demanding more clarity  on the future of renewables in  Scotland, labelling the  policies – or lack of  them – coming from  Westminster a sham- bles. SNP MPs and  MSPs are eager for  the continuation of off - shore wind development,  as well as for onshore wind, and other new technologies such  as tidal. On the Brexit front, the SNP wants the UK  – or  at least Scotland – to remain part  of the single market, including  being benefi  ciaries of the single  energy market. The Scottish government  minister for UK negotiations  on Scotland's place in Europe,  Michael Russell, says he intends to ensure Scotland and the other home nations are "fully involved" in the discus- sions in order to "secure an  ever improving society that  respects human rights, protects  basic freedoms, provides lots of  opportunity, and is ambitious for  the planet and the place in which we live". Political Agenda Mathew Beech "Getting a government say in Hinkley is a canny move" Hinkley Point C has shaped the early reign of Theresa May as the British prime minister, almost as much as her handling of the Brexit question. Calling for the government review of the deal, mere hours a• er EDF managed to convince its board members to make a fi nal investment decision, was brave. It reopened the debate over nuclear, the EPR reactor design, investor confi dence, and the price of the deal struck between the government and EDF. It also comes before the party conference season. The Con- servatives are painting a picture of calm control, methodically pushing ahead with plans – like Hinkley – which claim to protect future stability. Calmness, confi dence and assuredness are being exuded by May and her government. Labour, on the other hand, without a clear identity or a plan for itself or the UK, seems to be in chaos. One-nil to the Tories already. As the review rumbled on in the background, little was being given away as to which way it would go, although it emerged security concerns were at the heart of May's worries. Getting a government say in Hinkley, and a special share in future projects, is a canny move. While allowing the Somerset scheme to start reassures the global money men. The timing of the decision is also a politics power play. Thursday was the last day before recess for energy and business secretary Greg Clark and May to announce the green light in Parliament, meeting their own September deadline. Conference info Labour ACC Liverpool, 25-28 September 2016 Leader: Jeremy Corbyn (being challenged by Owen Smith) Number of MPs: 230 Number of party members: 515,000 Key names for utilities: Rachael Maskell, Nick Smith, Lord Grantchester, Barry Gardiner Conservatives Birmingham ICC, 2-5 October 2016 Leader: Theresa May Number of MPs: 329 Number of party members: 149,800 Key names for utilities: Greg Clark, Andrea Leadsom, Therese Coff ey, Nick Hurd, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Margot James, Jesse Norman SNP Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow, 13-15 October 2016 Leader: Nicola Sturgeon Number of MPs: 54 Number of party members: 120,000 Key names for utilities: Angus MacNeil, Callum McCaig, Paul Wheelhouse inDePenDence ref 2.0? The appetite for a second referendum will dis- appoint the SNP, with YouGov's latest Scotland survey fi nding just over one-third of Scots back a second independence referendum. 37% of Scots back a second independence referendum 50% oppose if a referendum was held: 46% of scots would vote for indpendence 54% against Last year's Conservative Party conference

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