by GARETH MACKIE
POWER supplier SSE is due to publish analysis tomorrow showing the group
has contributed £27 billion to the British economy over the past three
years a move likely to be seen as a bid to overcome criticism of the
utility giants.
The report, produced by “big four” accountant PwC, comes ahead of this
week’s first-half results and will show that the Perth-based firm supports
111,900 jobs and generates the equivalent of 0.6 per cent of UK GDP.
Chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: “SSE is proud to have
contributed £27bn to the UK economy in the past three years. It shows the
scale of our commitment to UK plc and measures the economic benefit that
our investment brings.
“As a responsible company, SSE seeks to maximise the economic benefits from
its activities, not just in the countries it operates in, but in local
communities too. This analysis from PwC helps us to identify areas where we
can enhance our impact.”
SSE said in March that it would be freezing household energy prices until
“at least” January 2016 as it unveiled plans to trim £100 million off its
annual cost base within the next two years. The move, which will lead to
about 500 job losses, saw plans for a number of wind farms shelved as “no
longer financially viable”.
However, SSE said on Thursday that it was making “significant progress”
with the £3bn Beatrice offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth as it agreed
to sell a 25 per cent stake in the project to fund manager Copenhagen
Infrastructure Partners. Following the deal, the Scots group will be left
with a 50 per cent interest in the scheme, with partner Repsol maintaining
its 25 per cent ownership.
Amid continued scrutiny of the power companies, regulator Ofgem said in
July that power bills are to be reduced by £12 a year on average after new
price controls were agreed by five of the six companies that run Britain’s
electricity network.
The watchdog said the cut had been driven by £2.1bn of savings it has
secured from the companies’ business plans since last year, but SSE finance
director Gregor Alexander said the supplier was “disappointed” with the
announcement, in particular Ofgem’s proposals on efficient financing and
assumptions about the scope of further cost reductions across the industry.
SSE is due to publish its half-year results on Wednesday and is expected to
confirm that it has invested about £700m during the six months to September
“maintaining, upgrading and building the energy assets that its customers
depend on”.
The group, which is on track to deliver another inflation-beating rise in
dividends, has also said that its energy supply business will have
continued to rack up losses in the first half, “albeit at a reduced level”
compared with a year ago.
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