Power profits

Congratulations on your clear and accurate leader (“Energy crisis needs long-term solution”, 23 March). A “long-term” solution is required, but then it was required decades ago.

We are in this precarious situation because successive governments have ducked the issue, ignoring the advice of scientific advisers.

With electricity, the rot set in when it was privatised, in the mistaken belief that this would reduce costs. Although the nuclear power plants built by the state still operate at moderate cost, that’s because the capital cost did not have to be written off in a short accounting period.

The proposal to build the first privately-funded nuclear station (Hinkley Point) is delayed by negotiations over the return the operator will get from its (allegedly) huge investment (it’s not clear why the cost is so high).

The misguided push for the generation of electricity from so-called renewables has also been profit driven. Private operators want a profit that would be unobtainable without a subsidy unfairly charged to consumers.

In effect, the latter will pay the price for privatising an industry that was well-organised and reasonably efficient.

Steuart Campbell

Edinburgh