31st May 2007 07:03
Scottish & Southern Energy PLC31 May 2007 SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGY PLC NEW PROGRAMME TO REWARD CUSTOMERS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY Scottish and Southern Energy plc ("SSE"), the UK's third largest supplier ofelectricity and gas, will later this year launch a new programme which will helpcustomers to reduce their energy consumption and reward them for doing so. Thiswill be the most comprehensive programme introduced by an energy supplier in theUK to incentivise its customers to use less of its core products. In the programme SSE will work with its customers to use less energy, save moneyand help them address climate change. Customers will earn 'energy efficiencycredits' by: reducing their consumption of electricity and gas over time;investing in energy efficiency measures such as loft insulation or thereplacement of inefficient appliances with A-rated ones; and taking steps tominimise other environmental impacts by, for example, opting for electronicbilling. The credits can then be used towards their SSE energy bills or furtherenergy efficiency measures. In the first year a customer with average* energy use could secure credits wortharound £100 by actions including: reducing their consumption of electricity andgas by around 10%; buying one new low-energy appliance at about £250; andinstalling loft insulation with a net cost of around £200. These credits wouldbe in addition to the direct energy bill savings achieved as a result of cuttingconsumption and savings on the underlying cost of appliances themselves. Therewill be no premium on the price of the electricity and gas supplied in theprograme compared with standard tariffs. Of all the UK's energy suppliers, SSE already includes the highest component ofrenewable energy in the fuel mix of the electricity it supplies to customers.It has set itself a target to reduce by 20% the amount of carbon dioxide perkilowatt hour of electricity produced at power stations in which it has anownership or contractual interest. The base year for the target is 2005/06 andSSE aims to achieve the 20% reduction by 2015/16. Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said: "Last week's White Paper said the starting point for energy policy is to startsaving energy, and we need to change the way we consume electricity and gas inthe UK. Our homes account for a quarter of the UK's carbon emissions. We can'tturn the clock back to the days of candles and log fires. But we can turn itforward, and use modern technology to hasten the move towards a lower-carbonsociety. To do this will require a partnership between customers and theirenergy suppliers, and it is precisely that kind of partnership which thisprogramme will be all about. Put simply, we want to reward our customers fordoing the right thing. It may seem odd for a company to actively work to reduce demand for its coreproducts, but we believe it's the only way forward that is sustainable for ourbusiness and for society as a whole." * SSE's annual dual fuel cost for the average customer (3300kWh electricity,20500kWh gas) paying quarterly on its standard domestic tariff averaged acrossall electricity regions in the UK and including VAT of 5% is £872 per annum. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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