This has been a year of plot-twists, the most depressing of which was that we have had to conduct our AGM virtually for the second year running; and the most surprising of which was the revelation that Alex Salmond borrowed our name for his new party. Suffice to say, we at Alba Energy advance no political views, other than those which support the hydro sector and innovations in renewable energy.
Alba En
Chairman's Welcome
Covid has played its part in developments, but lockdown only goes some way to explaining how the Assessor has managed to draw out the business rates case for a further two full years from the last court hearing. We believe this is now the longest legal dispute in ratings history. Understandably, some members may have lost the plot. Therefore, we are providing a an overview, below, of the whole Old Faskally saga, from its origins in 2013 to the present.
This should explain where we came from and how we got here, but please come back to us with any questions.
A long saga it may have been, but the end is in sight, there has been a shift in policy on State Aid and the news about reliefs is good. We are incredibly grateful to members for their continuing support.
We are also grateful to members for responding to the consultation with SEPA, another organisation struggling to make sense. This was also not because of lockdown, but in their case an IT failure, which has taken months to correct. Negotiations over their charging system have been on hold while we wait the outcome of the consultation.
A warning: there has been a sting-in-the-tail of the dispute with the Assessor. Scottish Government has recently bestowed new powers on his office, which will come into force next year – so that Scottish assessors will be able to raise extraordinary fines for any businesses failing to submit information in the required format.
We will ensure that members are fully prepared for the new regime and look forward to seeing you in person at a proper, post-lockdown AGM in March followed by site visits later in the year.
Martin Foster | Chairman | Alba Energy
News and Updates
Download our 2021 AGM PDF for full news articles and updates on topics including:
- What a relief: scheme extended until March 2032
- State aid problem unresolved: an opportunity for Scottish Government to intervene
- Progress for Old Faskally: now the longest-running case in ratings history
- Assessor’s new penalties: watch out in 2022
- The state of the sector: summary of a year’s healthy performance
- SEPA charging and the end of ROC
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