SCOTLAND-NORTHERN IRELAND ELECTRICITY INTERCONNECTOR

That this House recognises the need to improve the security of the electricity supply system in Northern Ireland and to give industrial and domestic consumers in Northern Ireland access to more competitively priced electricity in accordance with EU objectives; notes that Cockenzie Power Station and other Scottish generators have ample capacity to produce power for Northern Ireland at very competitive rates; welcomes the conclusion of public inquiries in Scotland and Northern Ireland that consent should be granted for an electricity interconnector; deplores the eleventh hour proposal of the Secretary of State for Scotland to require four sections of the line in Ayrshire to be put underground at a prohibitive cost of ú28 million; and calls on the Government to withdraw this unprecedented, unwarranted and unreasonable condition so that the interconnector can be constructed for the benefit of both Scotland and Northern Ireland.