NATIONALISING the “big five” energy firms would save lives, the Scottish Greens have said.
Taking British Gas, E.ON, Ovo, EDF and Scottish Power into public ownership could be done quickly and would “deliver help to those who need it now”, said the party’s co-leader Lorna Slater.
Analysis by the Trades Union Congress earlier this month claimed the cost of nationalising energy firms would be £2.85 billion.
The Greens said nationalising firms would allow for bills to be slashed to combat “out-of-control price hikes”.
It comes after a study from researchers at the University of York showed 72% of Scots will be living in fuel poverty by January, if expected energy price increases go ahead.
'Things can't go on like this'
The party has also called on the UK Government to bring back the £20 Universal Credit increase and double it – calls the Tories have repeatedly rejected – as well as a “real windfall tax” which closes the “loopholes” in the current levy.
Slater said: “Energy policy needs to work for people and the planet, and currently it is failing both. It is not just a failure of the energy market, it is a failure of the entire system. Millions of people are being forced to choose between heating and eating, while fossil fuel giants are raking in record profits.
“Things can’t go on like this. If the UK Government allows it to continue then we will be looking at a social emergency beyond anything that this country has experienced for generations.
“So many of the fundamental decisions about our economy sit with a cruel and incompetent Tory government that’s missing in action. Our plan can be implemented quickly to deliver help to those who need it now, but it needs the political will to do it.
"From raising wages to raising benefits, and from taxing the obscene wealth of the oil and gas companies to taking these companies into public ownership and curbing the out-of-control price hikes, these things can only be done from Westminster.
“With Greens in Government at Holyrood, we are leading the change.
“We have doubled the Scottish Child Payment and increased the benefits we control in line with inflation, providing vital support to families who are being hit with skyrocketing bills.
“We have introduced free bus travel for everyone under 22, opening Scotland for young people and their families, and ensured that all government contracts pay at least the living wage.
"This is a totally different approach from the Tories, who have no solutions and are trying to cut their way out of a crisis.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: "A nationalised energy company would still have to buy the same expensive gas on global markets, so prices won't be lower.
“We know the pressures people are facing with rising costs, which is why we have continually taken action to help households by phasing in £37bn worth of support throughout the year.
"In addition, over 22 million households are currently protected by the price cap. If the cap was not in place, energy companies could charge consumers even higher prices, over and above the costs of purchasing wholesale gas and electricity.”
