The Scottish government had previously pledged to establish a publicly-owned, non-profit company to sell gas and electricity by 2021, although that was later scrapped.
First Minister John Swinney said the firm would be a “bodyblow” to the Scottish economy, arguing it would not bring bills down for households and risk reducing employment in the north east of Scotland.
The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said confirmation of the headquarters’ location was welcome, but echoed concerns over its impact on local jobs.
He also called for more clarity on GB Energy’s role.
Mr Flynn said: “Nobody sensible was seriously suggesting that a new energy body should be based outwith Aberdeen so to have this belated certainty is helpful.
“Now we need to try and understand what this new energy body will actually do, and how it will benefit the people of Scotland given the scale of our resources.
“In that context, it’s only reasonable to expect any wealth created from Scotland’s resources to flow directly back to our communities and it’s important to be clear that this body being in Aberdeen is no mitigation to the damage that is likely to be caused to investment and jobs in our existing energy sector by Labour’s recently implemented tax regime.”
The Scottish Conservatives also voiced concerns over the impact on jobs, accusing Labour of “wanting to turn off the North Sea”.
Credit: Source link
