Hundreds of protected areas are under pressure from Scotland’s massive deer herd. Most agree deer numbers must be controlled to protect the environment, but are split on what should be done.
Edinburgh University students were “interrogated” by police at their desks over posters featuring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, prompting dozens to complain.
Unsafe levels of faecal bacteria were recorded at dozens of Scotland’s best beaches this summer. Swimmers and paddlers could be at risk, but officials insist water quality remains high.
Energy has long been part of the debate surrounding Scottish independence.
In recent years, supporters of independence have suggested that Scotland is being short-changed in its exports of electricity to the rest of the UK.
A post was shared hundreds of times on social media this week claiming that Scotland was receiving no money for the electricity it supplies to England.
Scotland supplies about 1.7 terawatt hours (of electricity) to England every month for zero payment.
Online post
Ferret Fact Service looked at this claim and found it Mostly False.
The electricity market has three stages – generation, networking and supply.
Electricity generation is done by private companies across Scotland and the UK, and comes from a mix of sources. Fossil fuels (such as natural gas), renewable energy and nuclear energy make up the majority of the UK’s electricity generation. According to UK Government statistics, 50.8 per cent of the UK’s electricity generation was from renewable sources in 2024.
In Scotland, about 70 per cent of generation is renewables, mostly from on and offshore wind power.
More electricity is produced in Scotland than the country needs. Much of this excess cannot be stored, and is sold by generating companies and transferred to the rest of the UK.
Statistics for 2024 show Scotland exported the net equivalent of 17.2 terawatt hours of electricity to England. This works out at 1.43 terawatt hours per month. This is lower than the 1.7 terawatt hours used in the claim.
The post on social media goes on to say that Scotland gets “zero payment” for this transfer of electricity. But this isn’t quite right either.
To understand the financial benefit we first need to look at how the grid works. Once energy is generated, it enters the national grid, which in Scotland is operated by Scottish Power and SSE. This network allows electricity to be transported across the UK, and is responsible for making sure the supply of electricity on the grid meets demand, and the grid is balanced. Electricity demand ebbs and flows, and at times where a lot of electricity is being used, such as during a significant televised sports event like the World Cup, the grid has to be able to cope with a surge.
Retail suppliers are companies which sell electricity to the consumer, competing with each other for the public’s business. There are caps on the amount of money that can be charged for normal energy usage, set by the energy regulator Ofgem.
The UK’s energy sector was privatised in the 1980s, so since then profits from electricity exports have not come directly to governments. The generation of energy is done by private companies, who then effectively sell electricity to consumer and business retailers on the wholesale market.
According to Scottish Government statistics, the net electricity exports from Scotland in 2024 had an indicative wholesale value of £1.5bn. This does not include the money made from selling the electricity to consumers.
Due to the UK’s privatised model, money from these exports goes to the companies that generate and retail electricity, rather than directly to the Scottish Government.
Some argue that nationalising the UK’s biggest energy firms would reduce bills and make electricity more sustainable.
Laws around electricity production and energy markets are reserved to Westminster, so the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to nationalise the industry.
The government does receive money from electricity generation and retail indirectly, however. Energy companies operating in Scotland pay taxes which assist public spending in Scotland, and other indirect economic benefits like jobs created. The Scottish Government also gained more than £756m through selling the seabed for offshore wind projects, for example.
In 2017, the Scottish Government announced plans to set up a publicly-owned, not-for-profit energy company that would sell to consumers “as close to cost price as possible”. This was scrapped in 2021, and energy secretary Gillian Martin told MSPs this year that the plans were not possible under the current devolution arrangement.
The claims in this social media post are not accurate. About 1.43 terawatt hours of electricity generated in Scotland is transferred to England each month, rather than 1.7 terawatt hours. The Scottish Government does not receive money directly from this energy because the UK’s electricity system is privatised, but it does indirectly gain revenue from the sector through tax receipts, job creation and licensing for generation in and around Scotland.
Mostly False – The claim may contain a kernel of truth but leaves out facts which lead one to a different impression.
Ferret Fact Service (FFS) is a non-partisan fact checker, and signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network fact-checkers’ code of principles.
All the sources used in our checks are publicly available and the FFS fact-checking methodology can be viewed here.
Want to suggest a fact check?
Email us at factcheck@theferret.scot or join our Facebook group.
Main image: iStock/AlbertPego
Hundreds of protected areas are under pressure from Scotland’s massive deer herd. Most agree deer numbers must be controlled to protect the environment, but are split on what should be done.
Edinburgh University students were “interrogated” by police at their desks over posters featuring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, prompting dozens to complain.
Unsafe levels of faecal bacteria were recorded at dozens of Scotland’s best beaches this summer. Swimmers and paddlers could be at risk, but officials insist water quality remains high.
Footage of farmed trout suffocating, haemorrhaging, and being beaten with batons in a slaughterhouse has prompted an official complaint to a government regulator.
