§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)My honourable friend the Minister for Energy and E-Commerce (Mike O'Brien) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have announced that the "go live" date for the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA) will be 1 April 2005. BETTA will bring together Scotland's transmission networks and the network in England and Wales to create a single GB electricity market.
I have also announced our intention to limit the charges renewable generators on the Scottish islands, and potentially in the far north of the Scottish mainland, will have to pay to the National Grid to transmit electricity to customers across Britain. I am doing this under a power taken in the Energy Act 2004. Exercise of this power will ensure that remote location is no bar to renewable development, which can make an important contribution to the Government's target of having 10 per cent renewable energy by 2010. We will be consulting on the details of the scheme in the summer.