Scotland’s dependence on oil and gas has left its industry facing nearly £2 billion (£1.8 bn) in additional costs since the energy crisis began, new analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found. Respectively, these areas spent an extra £800m, £740m, £560m and £390m over the crisis because of increased oil and gas prices. [2]The research also highlighted the continuing impact of the energy crisis on Scottish households, finding that excess energy costs have reached £5.8 billion – averaging around £2,260 per home. [3] Gas prices had reached eleven-month highs in recent weeks with colder weather and geopolitical uncertainty leading to fears for global supply. Although the UK’s growing renewables capacity is helping to reduce the amount of time that gas is setting power prices, gas continues to do so the majority of the time.

Source: The Guardian February 23, 2026 07:36 UTC