Skye homes near new power infrastructure offered £250 annual discount

12 AUGUST 2026

Skye homes near new power infrastructure offered £250 annual discount

Households on Skye living close to new or upgraded electricity infrastructure could be eligible for a £250 annual discount on their electricity bills.

The UK Government has announced the first locations covered by a new scheme for communities living within 500 metres of major electricity transmission projects.

On Skye, the sites include the substations at Edinbane and Broadford, as well as reinforcement of the overhead electricity line between Ardmore and Fort Augustus.

The discounts will be available for up to ten years, with the first payments expected from early 2027.

Eligible customers will receive more information from their supplier or the energy regulator Ofgem.

The UK Government says households will only get the money “once projects have secured all necessary consents and the main construction works have started” and that “projects where construction started on or after 10 March 2025 will be eligible”.

An assessment earlier this year estimated that between 120,000 and 160,000 households across the country could receive the discounts.

Campaigners on Skye have previously raised concerns about the scale and impact of the electricity infrastructure. The Skye Wind Farm Information Group said it was “deeply disappointed” when the Skye Reinforcement Project was approved in 2025, arguing that the new line would bring pylons, trenches, quarries and large substations at Edinbane and Broadford.

Nick Ferguson, Chair of Breakish Windfarm Action Group told Radio Skye:

“SSEN’s offer of compensation is essentially giving us back our own money. All of this work is financed by the UK Government, via UK energy bill payers.

“We in the Highlands already pay the highest unit rates for electricity in the UK. Now we are been told, not asked, to provide the grid infrastructure to supply the demand for everyone living south of the Highlands.

“The Scottish and UK Governments have been bounced into spending billions on upgrading our grid infrastructure by a private company taking commercial decisions to maximise its profits and thereby dividends for its shareholders.

“Breakish Windfarm Action Group (BWAG) recognise that the works being undertaken for Skye are out of all proportion to the current or future electricity needs of the people of Skye.

“BWAG, like many other groups, know that SSEN have seized this commercial opportunity because of the inability of the our governments to do the strategic planning to build a grid based on localised production, supply and demand.”

Christianna Logan, Director of Customers and Stakeholders at SSEN Transmission told Radio Skye:

“We strongly support measures that will see communities benefit from hosting the electricity transmission infrastructure that is required to deliver a cleaner, more secure and affordable electricity system for current and future generations.

“SSEN Transmission is committed to leaving a lasting legacy from this vital work, and our planned £29bn investment programme will generate significant economic and social gains for the communities we serve.”