The leader of Fife Council has urged the UK Government to step in to safeguard the future of Longannet power station.
David Ross has written to energy minister Ed Davey to ask him to intervene in negotiations to ensure the Forthside coal-fired station has a role to play in the energy supply business.
Fife councillors have unanimously backed plans to save the power station, which is under threat due to anomalies in the pricing structure to connect to the national grid operator ScottishPower has to pay £40 million a year for the privilege while southern stations pay £4m.
Last year it emerged Longannet may be forced to close earlier than planned due to the “disproportionately high” transmission charges.
Amid renewed fears last week First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron to urge Westminster to analyse electricity capacity margins in Scotland.
Mr Ross said the chance should be taken while Longannet is still operating to explore cleaner sources of power generation on the site.
“It is clear that coal-fired power stations are increasingly uneconomic under the current transmission charging regime and it is essential that National Grid and Ofgem take this into account in current negotiations,” he said.
He said he believes the power station is vitally important and an essential part of the UK’s energy supply network, adding: “There would be a significant impact on the national power network in the event of an early shutdown of Longannet.
“This is a matter of national importance and requires strong political intervention to ensure that Longannet is safeguarded.”
The council’s depute leader, Lesley Laird, spokeswoman for economy and planning, has contacted Fergus Ewing MSP, minister for business, energy and tourism, to discuss the matter.
“I hope that these high-level discussions will start to bring a sense of realism to negotiations at national level about the importance of this facility for Fife, Scotland and the UK,” Mr Ross added.
“ScottishPower’s Longannet facility has been a very significant economic asset for Fife and Scotland since its construction; as well as its vital role in the national power generation sector, the site employs 260 staff.
“It is clear that, in the longer term, coal-fired power stations are likely to be replaced with cleaner sources of energy but is essential that this is done on a planned, phased basis rather than in an abrupt change, which could disrupt the energy supply and have a major economic impact.
“I believe that the long-term future for power generation at the Longannet site could be assured through further environmental improvements to safeguard its role in energy generation for the next 10 years.
“If the coal-fired station can be kept generating for that period, we should use this time to explore a cleaner source of power generation at the site.”