Octopus Energy‘s Chief Executive Officer, Greg Jackson, has suggested that Scotland could benefit from periods of free electricity if the energy regulator Ofgem introduces regulatory changes.
Speaking at a conference in London a few days ago, Mr Jackson called for market reforms to optimise the use of Scotland’s renewable energy resources.
The boss of the energy giant pointed out that the current energy market does not reflect regional variations in electricity supply and demand.
Greg Jackson argued that Scotland, with its abundant wind power, could offer cheaper or even free electricity when conditions are favourable, rather than turning off wind turbines as is sometimes necessary under the present system.
Mr Jackson criticised the existing market structure for not providing adequate price signals, which leads to inefficient practices such as importing electricity when Scotland has excess renewable energy.
Greg Jackson suggested that dynamic pricing could improve the situation, allowing Scotland to better utilise its wind energy and potentially offer free electricity during peak production periods.
Current data shows that Scotland’s renewable electricity generation increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year.
In 2022, Scotland generated 87.9% of its electricity from low carbon sources and 11.4% from fossil fuels.
Scotland’s renewable energy capacity is significant, with 15.4GW operational and 46.8GW in the planning stage.
According to government data, Scotland’s net electricity transfers increased in early 2024, with exports to England rising by 15% to 6TWh, while imports from England fell to 0.1TWh.
Transfers to Northern Ireland more than doubled to 0.5TWh compared to the previous year.
