RENEWABLE Scots power stations providing enough energy to power 120,000 homes could be hit in a dispute over pay, it has been revealed.
Some 50 workers employed by Drax Hydro Ltd who operate three power stations are being balloted for strike action after a rejection of an 8% pay offer.
The workers including engineers, plant controllers, as well as mechanical and electrical craft workers work at three hydro power stations owned by Drax Hydro that could be crippled by any action.
A consultative ballot held in December indicated that strike action was supported by 84.9% of Unite members.
The biggest of the power stations that is in dispute is Cruachan in Argyllshire, the site of only four pumped storage hydro stations in the UK with a capacity of 440 MW – enough to power more than 90,000 homes.
The other stations that would be affected are Glenlee in Dumfries and Galloway and Stonebyres in South Lanarkshire
While union chiefs say any strike would cut the amount of energy produced by the stations to the Grid, Drax say it would not affect supplies to homes and businesses and that its offer, which would be backdated for three months makes it worth 10%.
The ballot which opens on February 1 and closes on February 22 follows the rejection of the pay offer which the union says is below the current retail prices index rate of inflation which currently which stood at 13.4% at the end of the year.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: "Energy workers’ pay is lagging well behind the eye-watering profits being made across the sector.
“Drax’s parent group is awash with tens of millions in profit. Yet, Drax Hydro workers have been offered what amounts to a significant real terms wage cut, this is totally unacceptable. We will fully support our members in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions."
If the ballot is successful then strike action could take place in early March.
Drax Hydro latest financial position shows that it made after-tax profits of £2.3m in 2021.
The Drax Group parent firm has said its pre-tax profits for the first half of 2022 were almost four times higher than its pre-tax profits for the same period in 2021, after high electricity prices bolstered the Yorkshire firm’s business.
The North Yorkshire company – that operates the coal and biomass fired Draw Power Station near Selby – saw its first half profits before tax surge from £52m in the first half of 2021 to £200m in the first half of 2022, after the war in Ukraine and the impacts of Covid caused global energy prices to surge.
In January, Drax agreed to pay the energy watchdog Ofgem a £6m-plus fine, after it admitted to an ‘inadvertent breach’ of its electricity generation licence.
The power group’s pumped storage subsidiary will have to cough up £6.12m after charging the National Grid’s electricity system operator (NGESO) excessive prices to cut its power generation.
The payments are linked to the Cruachan Power Station and the UK’s balancing mechanism.
Between January 2019 and last July, the generator unjustifiably sought reimbursement from National Grid ESO for withholding or turning down output from the plant’s four turbines, at times when the grid operator signalled “transmission constraint”.
Elaine Dougall, Unite regional co-ordinating officer said: "The pay offer on the table by Drax Hydro doesn't come close to meeting the fair and reasonable demands of our members. The Drax Group like all energy companies is benefiting from price hikes across the board. If there is no improved wage offer then our members are set to take strike action in the coming weeks.
“This could directly hit energy supplies."
A Drax spokesman said: “We have put forward a fair and competitive pay settlement which rewards our valued colleagues and is significantly above the national average.
“We will continue to work with the unions to find a resolution which avoids strike action at our Scottish hydro power stations and ensures the long-term sustainability and success of the business. We have plans in place to ensure that there will be no impact on electricity supplies should the action go ahead in Scotland. Drax’s hydro operations play a critical role in energy security, and we plan to invest billions of pounds in our UK renewable energy projects this decade, including the expansion of our Cruachan pumped storage hydro power station, creating and supporting jobs in Scotland.”
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