26th Apr 2007 09:34
Scottish & Southern Energy PLC26 April 2007 SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGY PLC MAJOR CUSTOMER GROWTH MILESTONES Scottish and Southern Energy plc ("SSE") achieved two major customer growthmilestones in the year to 31 March 2007, with a net gain of over one millionenergy customer accounts in one year for the first time and the achievement of100,000 'talk with' telecoms customers. SSE, which supplies energy as Southern Electric, SWALEC, Scottish Hydro Electricand Atlantic Electric and Gas, gained 1.05 million customers during the year andnow has 4.95 million electricity customers and 2.80 million gas customers. It isthe UK's third largest energy supplier. The gain of 1.05 million customers in 2006/07, a growth of 15%, was the highestever achieved by SSE and represented the best performance by any UK energysupply business. The achievement of 100,000 telecoms customers for the first time follows thefull launch of its fixed-line service for domestic customers and means SSE nowhas a total customer base of 7.85 million, an increase of 3.35 million in thelast five years. The growth in energy supply customers in 2006/07 was supported by SSE'sresponsible pricing strategy, as a result of which its customers paid an averageof £340 less for their gas and electricity during the three years of risingwholesale energy prices than did customers of British Gas. On 1 March, SSE started implementing a cut of 12% in its average gas bill and on1 April it started implementing a cut of 5% in its average electricity bill. Itis one of just two energy suppliers to have begun implementing price cuts. At£913, British Gas' new average annual dual fuel bill, announced today, remains£40 higher than SSE's average annual dual fuel bill of £873.* The increase in customer numbers was also achieved at the same time as anothersignificant reduction, of 47%, to 840, in the number of complaints about SSEsent to energywatch for resolution in the year to March 2007. This made SSE thebest-performing company.** Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said: "I am delighted that our commitment to responsible pricing and best-in-sectorservice has enabled us to gain over one million customers in the past year. Weremain committed to both of these objectives and expect, therefore, to continueto attract many new customers in the course of the next year." * Based on the average standard quarterly payment across Great Britain and onannual gas consumption of 20,500 kWh and annual electricity consumtion of 3,300kWh. Prices include VAT but exclude Early Payment Discount of 4.3% which SSEoffers to customers who pay their bills quarterly. ** In its statement on 23 April - 'energywatch reports record number ofcomplaints by British Gas customers' - energywatch stated that it had received840 complaints about SSE, which was the best-performing company, over the year.This compares with 2,509 for the second best-performing company and 37,100 forthe poorest-performing company, British Gas. Enquiries to: Scottish and Southern Energy plc Justyn Smith - Head of Media Relations + 44 (0)870 900 0410Sharron Miller-Mckenzie - Press Office Manager + 44 (0)870 900 0410 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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