A new publicly owned energy company will be launched in Scotland by May 2021, the First Minister has announced.

The SNP leader told her party conference the firm will be run on a not-for-profit basis and will sell energy to people "as close to cost price as possible".

The change could be the largest reform of the sector in Scotland since British Gas was privatised in 1986, with electricity in Scotland also following suit in 1991.

"The idea, at its heart, is simple," Sturgeon told delegates during her keynote address.

"Energy would be bought wholesale or generated here in Scotland - renewable, of course - and sold to customers as close to cost price as possible.

"No shareholders to worry about. No corporate bonuses to consider.

"It would give people - particularly those on low incomes - more choice and the option of a supplier whose only job is to secure the lowest price for consumers."

Speaking after the First Minister's speech, a spokesman for Sturgeon admitted he was not aware of any discussions between the devolved government and private energy firms.

He added: "There is a free and fair marketplace for everyone to operate, and that's the way the world works."

The SNP leader also used her speech to tackle the question of when and how her party will achieve its ultimate aim of independence.

Sturgeon maintained her government still has a mandate to hold a second independence vote but they must be cautious about exercising it.

She told the conference: "As I have always said, Scotland should have the right to choose our future when the terms of Brexit are clear.

"We have a mandate to give the people that choice. That mandate was won fairly and squarely. But exercising it must be done with the interests of all of Scotland at heart.

"People want clarity about Brexit first. We respect that."

International affairs also featured in her speech to party members.

The First Minister singled out the European Union for criticism over its handling of the Catalan independence referendum and the subsequent violence dished out to voters by Spanish police.

She said: "We do want Scotland to stay at the heart of Europe. But that does not mean we think the EU is perfect.

"Sometimes it fails to live up to its founding values of human dignity, freedom, democracy and equality.

"When the people of Catalonia - EU citizens - were violently attacked by police just for trying to vote, the EU should have spoken up, loudly, to condemn."