High Court dismisses ScottishPower’s legal challenge

The High Court has dismissed on all counts ScottishPower’s legal challenge to Ofgem’s decision to approve National Grid’s new charging arrangements for the high-voltage transmission network.

The charging arrangements needed to recover the £1.7bn cost of running Britain’s transmission network had been approved by Ofgem’s governing authority, following extensive separate consultation by both National Grid and Ofgem.

The Ofgem chairman, Sir John Mogg, said: “We are of course pleased that the court has upheld the authority’s decision on every count and believe our decision is the right one for customers.

“In Scotland these new charges have already helped reduce the impact of recent electricity prices for both domestic and business customers. And the impact of the new charges on Scottish generation, including renewables, is broadly neutral.”

The GB-wide electricity market began in April and allows Scottish generators easy access to the larger demand for electricity in England and Wales. This is particularly important in Scotland, where there is already surplus capacity and plans are in the pipeline to more than double the amount of renewable generation.