Energy minister Michael Shanks has said North-east communities that host energy project infrastructure should be compensated with cheaper bills.
Shanks made the comments on the Press and Journal's weekly politics podcast The Stooshie while responding to questions about higher costs for developers in the north and concerns about the cost of living, admitting it's something he has been "wrestling with".
He told the P&J: "We've got a huge opportunity here to bring down bills for everybody, but, if you're hosting that infrastructure, you should feel that benefit more than anybody.
"They're doing the country a favour and it's got to be hosted somewhere.
"That's why on transmission, for example, we announced the first bill discounts to give people direct money off their bills if they're hosting that infrastructure.
"I want to look much more about who owns energy so we've got much stronger community benefits. Ownership by communities as well, so they're directly profiting from that energy."
In the recent ‘What the North Thinks’ poll, carried out by True North Advisors and the Diffley Partnership, 57% of the 3,235 people surveyed listed cheaper bills as the number one benefit they would like to see from grid upgrades.
Listen to The Stooshie here.