LAST week I read in my other paper that Shetland will become part of the British grid system by 2023 and thus will be “more energy secure”! I couldn’t believe my eyes.

In the first phase, which is happening now, there is a cable being laid from Nosshead (in Caithness) to Orkney, followed by one within the Orkney mainland, and the final phase to be completed by the end of 2023 from Orkney to Shetland. This has clearly nothing to do with giving Shetland “security of supply” (as the English paper stated), but to ensure that the plentiful supply of wind, wave and tidal energy in Shetland can be added to the grid to be utilised south of the border.

READ MORE: Scottish independence planning should be BANNED by UK Government, Lord Foulkes says

This gives credence to Charlie Kerr’s letter in the National (July 15) which he ends by saying “they will take all our renewables and charge us the earth for them”.

Be warned, Scotland, this is happening now to our vast renewable energy resources and next it will be our water. As Charlie says, it's time to stand up and make some sort of change in strategy before it’s too late. His comments are prescient.

Paul Gillon
Leven