Scotland's premier pushes for energy sector nationalisation

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged the UK national government to consider buying equity in domestic energy companies to head off surging wholesale costs this winter, the Independent reported August 21.

Sturgeon's comments came as new forecasts from consultants Auxilione suggested energy bills could reach £3,576 in October, before surging to reach £6,089 in April next year, as UK regulator Ofgem raised the cap on heating prices.

Sturgeon's Scottish National Party was elected in 2021 to manage the devolved Scottish government in Holyrood for a fourth consecutive term, together with the Scottish Greens in a cooperation pact. But regulating energy bills remains a matter reserved to the Conservative government in London, meaning policy must be formulated on a UK-wide basis.

Meanwhile, major energy producers across the European continent already use part-nationalised ownership structures. Sturgeon points out France has announced plans to return its energy industry leader EDF to full national ownership, as a way of tackling its sizeable debt load. The French state also holds a 23.7% shareholding in utility Engie.

In Germany, Berlin has agreed to contribute to the country's largest ever-corporate bailout for Finnish-German utility Uniper, worth an estimated $12.6bn. Uniper has struggled to cope with soaring spot prices and Gazprom's supply curtailments on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

Asked whether some form of nationalisation should be considered, Sturgeon told UK public broadcaster the BBC: "I think all of these things have to be on the table. I don't have the power to do that: the UK government should be considering [it]."

"Cancel the price cap increase, do that first of all, and then yes, how is that then funded? What is the contribution from energy companies, the UK government, what does it mean in terms of the ownership profile of the energy companies? All of that has to be on the table.

"But first and foremost, this increase in people's energy bills [...] can't be allowed to go ahead, because it is making it impossible for people to provide the basics for themselves and their families."