Scottish & Southern's 'energy shock'

It's the latest company to warn of big price rises. But with profits soaring, pressure mounts on the regulator, as Miles Brignall reports Scottish & Southern Energy has become the latest big energy company to warn its nine million customers that they face substantial increases in their gas and electricity bills this year. The warning, issued by SSE chief executive Ian Marchant at the company's annual general meeting, came on the same day that rival supplier, Scottish Power, announced a big jump in profits. Marchant, who in May reported that Scottish & Southern had made annual pre-tax profits of £1.23bn - or £136 from each customer - said the full extent of the "energy shock" on gas and electricity prices was "still to be felt". "We are continuing to resist the pressure to put up prices for domestic customers, but doing so is... [read full story]