SNP faces major heat pump rebellion with taxpayers set to be hit with 'exorbitant' bills

Fergus Ewing, a former SNP government cabinet secretary, has now organised a letter signed by Labour and Tory MSPs.

It suggests that installing heat pumps or other electric forms of heating would either be “exorbitantly” expensive or totally unfeasible in many homes not connected to the gas grid.

The letter adds that some homes in the coldest parts of Scotland could see their heating cut off if there are outages caused by extreme weather.

The group of four MSPs, who represent some of Scotland’s most rural communities, have demanded an “urgent review” into the plans.

Patrick Harvie, the Green Party zero carbon buildings minister, has said the Scottish Government wanted “all homes to reach new energy efficiency standards by no later than 2033”.

In addition, homeowners could be banned from selling their properties from 2025 unless they install heat pumps, according to controversial reforms to the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings system

However, a recent poll revealed that 80 per cent of off-grid property owners warned the cost of installing a heat pump would be unaffordable, MSPs claim.

The estimated cost of converting all homes to “zero emissions” is £33 billion.

However the Scottish Government have only provided an initial package of support of only £1.8 billion.

A strategy published by ministers in 2021 admitted that the average cost of installing a heat pump is around £10,000, four times the £2,500 cost of a new fossil-fuel boiler.

“By seeking to reform EPCs and forcing rural homeowners to rely on electrified heating alone from 2025, the Scottish Government is taking an approach to decarbonisation that will pose a serious risk to those living in remote areas," Ewing, a former rural economy secretary and the SNP MSP for Inverness and Nairn said.

“Not only does it threaten to burden off-grid property owners with overwhelming costs, but it also leaves them vulnerable to extreme-weather-induced power outages and disregards the realities of inefficient rural and islands’ electricity grids and infrastructure.”

Douglas Lumsden, the Scottish Tory shadow energy minister and another signatory of the letter, added: “These current proposals are deeply unfair on Scotland’s rural communities.

“If we are to reach net zero, we need to do so in a way that is fair, affordable, and which offers choice to Scottish homeowners. Given the timescales involved, ministers must urgently review these proposals.”