The first locations where households living close to new upgraded electricity pylons and substations will receive a £250 annual discount on their bills have been revealed – and these include those near the planned Lewis transformer hub near Stornoway.

Customers living within 1,600ft (500m) of 43 transmission projects across Britain will be eligible for the payments for up to 10 years under the bill discount scheme.

UK ministers say replacing and upgrading decades-old infrastructure is vital for distributing renewable power and improving energy security.

About two-thirds of the projects are in Scotland, to support the fast-growing wind energy sector.

Communities paralleling the route for power from the Isle of Lewis eastwards across Scotland will also benefit.  

However, Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Alexander Burnett, who has been a leading campaigner against plans to build a 66-mile power line between Kintore to Tealing, said: “No amount of money will compensate for the profound emotional toll that the over-industrialisation of our countryside is having on our rural communities." 

“These insulting payments are nothing more than a bribe to railroad pylons across Scotland, particularly in the North East and Highlands.

“For residents living between Kintore and Tealing, I know these plans are causing significant hardship to those who own homes along the route, with some constituents already seeing their properties devalued by 20%.

“The risk of having these pylons on their doorstep is severely impacting people’s mental health and would harm prime farmland belonging to families spanning generations.

“That is why we must not allow the desecration of our beautiful countryside at the cost of our communities.

“Rather than trying to keep households quiet, both Labour and the SNP should listen to the thousands of objections, ensure the voices of residents are properly heard and give people the final say on energy infrastructure in their area.”

The protests – and payouts – come despite the fact that millions of people already live near pylons and substations throughout the UK without ever getting reduced power bills. The photograph below shows pylons in north central Glasgow, by the Forth and Clyde Canal.