16th Jan 2007 11:18
Scottish & Southern Energy PLC16 January 2007 SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGYOFFERS CUSTOMERS INCREASEDEARLY PAYMENT DISCOUNT - £40 REDUCTION ON TYPICAL BILL Scottish and Southern Energy plc ("SSE") is rewarding customers who pay theirenergy bills in good time by increasing its early payment discount. The discount will now be worth around £40* to the millions of customers who paytheir bills quarterly. SSE, which supplies energy as Southern Electric, SWALEC, Scottish Hydro Electricand Atlantic, is one of just two energy suppliers which rewards its customers inthis way. The increase in SSE's early payment discount follows the recent announcement byBritish Gas of its plan to charge their customers £5 for paying bills late,which could mean up to £40 a year more for British Gas customers. Energy Supply Director, Alistair Phillips Davies said: "All along we've taken aresponsible approach to our pricing, which is why typical dual-fuel pricescharged by our largest competitor are around 16% higher than ours. This is evenbefore we add our prompt payment discount, which takes the difference to 21%. "We want to reward our customers for doing the right thing, not penalise themfor doing the wrong thing. Our customers could receive an average of £40 offtheir bills just for paying them promptly. "This is the first of a number of measures we will be introducing in 2007 tostart making energy bills better. Although we are already the lowest costsupplier across the country, we expect these measures to include a reduction inprices later this year." - ENDS - * Based on a 4.3% early payment discount applied to SSE's average standardquarterly dual fuel bill across all Great Britain areas, of £962. The equivalentbill with British Gas would be £1,120 - more than 16% higher. The average billis based on 20,500 kWh of gas and 3.300kWh of electricity. Notes to Editors: •The early payment discount is available to SSE's 2.5 million customers who pay their bill quarterly on demand, and do so within 10 days of receiving it. The increased discount will be 4.3% off the customer's total quarterly bill including VAT. •Customers are eligible for even larger discounts if they pay their bills by Direct Debit: 5% off the unit price for variable direct debit customers and 6% off the unit price for monthly direct debit customers. •Based on the average standard quarterly price across Great Britain, SSE continues to offer the lowest prices in the industry for gas, and for gas and electricity combined (dual-fuel). This is based on annual consumption of 20,500kWh of gas and 3,300kWh of electricity. Prices include VAT. •SSE supplies 7.5 million customers through its retail brands, Southern Electric, SWALEC, Scottish Hydro Electric and Atlantic. It transmits and distributes electricity to over 3.6 million customers in central southern England and the north of Scotland. SSE Press Office Contact: 0870 900 0410 Justyn Smith and Sharron Miller McKenzie This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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