Energy bills to hit an average of £1,723 from October

The increase will hit households just as the first cold weather arrives and the central heating goes on for the Autumn.

Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight predicts domestic energy prices could increase by a further 9% early in the new year, heaping more misery on struggling households in mid-Winter.

The UK government says conflict in the Middle East is responsible for pushing up prices, and it is clear that geopolitical factors certainly are a contributing factor. Energy bills have gone up by about 70% compared with the average figure before Russia invaded Ukraine, according to some reports.

However, electricity bills are influenced by a range of costs, including wholesale generation, network charges, subsidies to energy companies and policy costs.

The wholesale cost only makes up about a third of bills currently, according to analysis by independent energy analyst electricitybills.uk

Enthusiastic proponents of low-carbon power promised significantly lower bills for consumers by ensuring the majority of our energy came from renewable sources. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband promised a £300 cut to average energy bills by pursuing renewable energy generation at breakneck speed. Instead, costs continue to rise.

Scotland has been at the forefront of the UK’s push for power. There are an estimated 334 onshore wind farms with 4,400 turbines in Scotland, while a further 540 more schemes are either under construction, consented, or somewhere in the planning system.

The Scottish Borders is one of the worst affected areas. Almost all rural towns and villages across the South of Scotland are either fighting planning applications or already have vast energy developments on their doorstep.

Despite all this power generation, costs to consumers -- and system costs -- continue to rise.

The fundamental problem is not one of generation but of distribution. The national grid was built at a time when most of our power came from fossil fuels, typically coal and gas plants in the north of England. Transporting wind power from where it is generated – mainly in rural Scotland, to where it is needed – mainly in England’s towns and cities – requires upgrades to the national grid. The cost of these upgrades, along with building additional power lines, estimated at around £60 - £80bn, will ultimately be added to consumer bills.

The current system, with generous subsidies to energy companies, has resulted in a goldrush of development, overwhelmingly in rural Scotland, loss of treasured landscapes, a huge amount of wasted power, high bills and broken promises to consumers.

Meanwhile big energy companies are cashing in. Iberdrola, Spanish owner of Scottish Power, and Goldwind, the Chinese wind turbine manufacturer have seen their profits soar.

Both the Scottish and UK governments are well aware of the problem, but seem reluctant to resolve it.

The next stage may be even worse, as increasing grid capacity means more and more substations and giant lines of pylons stretching across our countryside.

Over 200 Community Councils have now joined forces to call for a pause on major energy developments until there is a strategic energy plan in place for Scotland.

We hope our elected representatives take note.