Scottish Affairs Committee - A Robust Grid for 21st Century ScotlandWritten evidence submitted by Don McNeil

We live on the shores of Loch Fyne, at Newton, and we have been without power twice. Once in December and the last time, earlier this month. On the last occasion we were without power from Tuesday at approximately 7am to Thursday afternoon, approximately 3.30pm. I was continually on the phone and put in numerous complaints with regard to the so called “updates” which told me absolutely NOTHING.

I knew there had been severe storms and more engineers had been drafted in but I was not interested in the number of houses still out in the Highlands etc. I told them this and said that each area should have an update pertinent to the area so that the public could be prepared for another night or whatever.

I also said that the Scottish Government should invest heavily in the already established and satisfactory “green energy”—HYDRO. We will never run out of rain, rivers etc. This investment should include putting cables underground and clearing ALL trees that have a potential of falling on the cables whenever we experience severe storms—something that is going to be here forever. Instead of doing that, money is being wasted with windmills and creating new forms of energy that are clean and green, and the threat of building new nuclear power stations—according to Fritjof Capra, the most dangerous and least effective way to heat water, but provides uranium and plutonium, thus giving countries the fuel for nuclear bombs.

29 January 2012