Labour ministers vow to introduce new legal requirements to ensure communities benefit from upgrades to National Grid infrastructure.

Scots living near “monster pylon” construction projects will save £250 a year on their energy bills under new UK Government plans.

Labour ministers have vowed to introduce new legal requirements to ensure communities benefit from upgrades to National Grid infrastructure such as new electricity pylons. That includes knocking £2500 off bills for those who live nearby over the next decade – potentially helping thousands of families and cutting their energy costs by up to 40 per cent.

It’s hoped the measure will reduce community opposition to huge energy infrastructure projects like pylons and substations – deemed essential for the net zero push. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said: “Scotland is at the heart of the UK Government’s clean energy future.

“Through our Plan for Change we are working to deliver benefits to those communities who live close to energy grid infrastructure. For some Scottish families this could be up to £250 per year off their energy bills.”

It follows fierce local anger in rural and remote areas of Scotland over “monster pylon” schemes aimed at connecting the Grid up to the country’s booming wind power industry. The towering steel structures dwarf existing pylons and range from 180 to 220 feet tall – twice the height of the Kelpies, or the same as a dozen double-decker buses stacked on top of each other.

Last year, the Record spoke to fuming locals in picturesque Drumoak, Aberdeenshire where an “electricity motorway” of mega-pylons is set to scythe right through their village. Energy giant SSEN plans to build a 66-mile route of power lines stretching from Kintore, Aberdeenshire, to Tealing, Angus.

Labour said under its plans, north-east communities affected by this scheme could be in line for funding worth more than £23million. Under powers in the government’s upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, households within 500 metres of new or upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure will get electricity bill discounts of up to £2500 over 10 years.

Around twice as much new transmission network infrastructure will be needed by 2030 as has been built in the past decade to meet the UK’s clean power targets. But Westminster says too many projects have been bogged down in the pre-planning stage while battling local NIMBYs, at the cost of energy security and green jobs – with plans to massively speed up the planning and approval process.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The only way to make Britain energy secure and bring down bills for good is to get Britain off dependence on fossil fuel markets and replace it with clean, homegrown power that we control. To do this, we need to get Britain building right now.

“And as part of that, we are delivering on our landmark commitment to ensure that people who live near infrastructure meaningfully benefit. This will benefit the whole country by ensuring we build the clean power system we need.”

James Robottom, from trade body RenewableUK, said: “It’s right that local communities should benefit from hosting new and upgraded pylons, so this guarantee that they will have significantly lower electricity bills is a positive step forward. We recognise the need to bring communities with us as we build the clean energy system of the future by ensuring that they have a tangible stake in it.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We look forward to seeing more detail on the electricity bill discount scheme proposed by the UK Government. High energy prices remain the single greatest driver of fuel poverty in Scotland, which is why we continue to progress actions within our devolved powers towards raising household incomes and improving energy efficiency including reinstating the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners, and calling for a social tariff to bring bills down.”