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| Bringing electricity to the Scottish Highlands – archive Bringing electricity to the Scottish Highlands – archive | |
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| Lord Strathclyde, at 73, is an old warrior – of naval encounters, of tough forays in Glasgow City Council, of parliamentary in-fighting. He has learnt not only to keep his powder dry but to keep it out of sight. He does not belong to the “slick” school of nationalised industry chairmen who become, in themselves, the image and salesmen of their industries. How, then, does he see his role as chairman of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board? “Well, a chairman hasn’t got a role. He’s the chairman of a board; the board has the role. The board’s job is to provide consumers in the North of Scotland with electricity at the cheapest possible price.” | Lord Strathclyde, at 73, is an old warrior – of naval encounters, of tough forays in Glasgow City Council, of parliamentary in-fighting. He has learnt not only to keep his powder dry but to keep it out of sight. He does not belong to the “slick” school of nationalised industry chairmen who become, in themselves, the image and salesmen of their industries. How, then, does he see his role as chairman of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board? “Well, a chairman hasn’t got a role. He’s the chairman of a board; the board has the role. The board’s job is to provide consumers in the North of Scotland with electricity at the cheapest possible price.” |
| This is the straight-and-narrow, non-controversial Highland track; with a general election, and clouds of controversy, gathering around the board, it is the only one to follow. But Lord Strathclyde does not mute his assessment of the board’s achievements in its 21 years, nor hide his belief in its future potential. | This is the straight-and-narrow, non-controversial Highland track; with a general election, and clouds of controversy, gathering around the board, it is the only one to follow. But Lord Strathclyde does not mute his assessment of the board’s achievements in its 21 years, nor hide his belief in its future potential. |
| “Our main achievement,” he says, “must be the tremendous progress made in distributing electricity throughout a very sparsely populated area of great extent; a tremendous extent when you consider that the area we serve covers a quarter of the land area of the United Kingdom. And all this has been accomplished without any charge whatsoever to the ratepayer or taxpayer. That’s phenomenal.” | “Our main achievement,” he says, “must be the tremendous progress made in distributing electricity throughout a very sparsely populated area of great extent; a tremendous extent when you consider that the area we serve covers a quarter of the land area of the United Kingdom. And all this has been accomplished without any charge whatsoever to the ratepayer or taxpayer. That’s phenomenal.” |
| He lists, phlegmatically, the benefits that have flowed from the board’s work – the light industries that have come, the roads that have been built, the houses, the whole new communities, the £180 millions the board has spent in the Highlands. “We had the strength of being there when nobody else was. For the first time, somebody was putting something back.” | He lists, phlegmatically, the benefits that have flowed from the board’s work – the light industries that have come, the roads that have been built, the houses, the whole new communities, the £180 millions the board has spent in the Highlands. “We had the strength of being there when nobody else was. For the first time, somebody was putting something back.” |
| The bad old desolate days come back again. Days of candles and oil-lamps, of digging peat and walking a mile to the well and, finally, of trekking South because the womenfolk wouldn’t put up with it any longer. “Electricity has ended all that. This is the basic point– so basic that people miss it.” | The bad old desolate days come back again. Days of candles and oil-lamps, of digging peat and walking a mile to the well and, finally, of trekking South because the womenfolk wouldn’t put up with it any longer. “Electricity has ended all that. This is the basic point– so basic that people miss it.” |
| The people who miss it are the board’s next problem – the problem of capitalising on achievement, the problem for another 21 years. On simple economics, Lord Strathclyde seems to have few doubts. Half the hydro-electric power of the Highlands remains to be realised. Growing emphasis on pump storage, he thinks, provides a sound base for expansion. “So far as one can see at present, pump storage schemes will be economic compared with anything yet thought of.” | The people who miss it are the board’s next problem – the problem of capitalising on achievement, the problem for another 21 years. On simple economics, Lord Strathclyde seems to have few doubts. Half the hydro-electric power of the Highlands remains to be realised. Growing emphasis on pump storage, he thinks, provides a sound base for expansion. “So far as one can see at present, pump storage schemes will be economic compared with anything yet thought of.” |
| Human beings – and frailties – are the trouble. The Highlands need light industries, and the return of those who left in despair. The board has tried hard to woo them. “But it must be admitted that the success hasn’t been proportionate to the effort.” There have, however, been successes. One of the firms which has come North announced the second extension to its works recently, and said that this was “because of the high quality of labour.” | Human beings – and frailties – are the trouble. The Highlands need light industries, and the return of those who left in despair. The board has tried hard to woo them. “But it must be admitted that the success hasn’t been proportionate to the effort.” There have, however, been successes. One of the firms which has come North announced the second extension to its works recently, and said that this was “because of the high quality of labour.” |
| Always, though, the familiar reasons, or excuses, crop up – distance, money, lack of amenities. Lord Strathclyde is optimistic about the future of forestry and “far from despondent about the future of the Highlands.” He knows well the psychological blockages which keep light industries chained to the smoke and congested sprawl of the South; but logic, surely, must prevail – especially when he adds a dab of near lyricism to it. | Always, though, the familiar reasons, or excuses, crop up – distance, money, lack of amenities. Lord Strathclyde is optimistic about the future of forestry and “far from despondent about the future of the Highlands.” He knows well the psychological blockages which keep light industries chained to the smoke and congested sprawl of the South; but logic, surely, must prevail – especially when he adds a dab of near lyricism to it. |
| “Think of the people in Birmingham or any big city. And think of Perth or Inverness. Think of the life of children, the air, the space, the countryside.” The chairman, not an impassioned man, is confident that people will think on these things. The board, he says, has already given “light and hope” to Highlanders; it is ready, given the chance, to do a lot more. | “Think of the people in Birmingham or any big city. And think of Perth or Inverness. Think of the life of children, the air, the space, the countryside.” The chairman, not an impassioned man, is confident that people will think on these things. The board, he says, has already given “light and hope” to Highlanders; it is ready, given the chance, to do a lot more. |