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| Company type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| LSE: SSE FTSE 100 component | |
| ISIN | GB0007908733  |
| Industry | Energy |
| Founded | 1998; 27 years ago (1998) |
| Headquarters | Perth, Scotland, UK |
Area served |
|
Key people | Richard Gillingwater (Chairman)[1] Alistair Phillips-Davies (CEO)[2] |
| Services | Power generation anddistribution,natural gasproduction, transportation, and distribution, telecommunications, metering |
| Revenue |  £10,457.2 million (2024)[3] |
| £2,367.1 million (2024)[3] | |
 £1,884.4 million (2024)[3] | |
Number of employees | 13,891 (2024)[3] |
| Subsidiaries | SSE Thermal Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks SSE Renewables SSE Airtricity Multifuel Energy |
| Website | www |
SSE plc (formerlyScottish and Southern Energy plc) is a multinationalenergy company headquartered inPerth, Scotland.[4][5] It is listed on theLondon Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index. SSE operates in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The company has its origins in twopublic sector electricity supply authorities. The formerNorth of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board was founded in 1943 to design, construct and managehydroelectricity projects in theHighlands ofScotland, and took over further generation and distribution responsibilities on the nationalisation of the electricity industry within the United Kingdom in 1948.[6]
The formerSouthern Electricity Board was created in 1948 to distribute electricity inSouthern England.[6] Whilst the Southern Electricity Board was a distribution only authority, with no power generation capacity of its own, the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric board was a broader spectrum organisation, with its own generating capabilities.[7]
Because of its history and location, the Hydro-Electric Board was responsible for most of the hydroelectric generating capacity in the United Kingdom.[8] Both authorities were privatised in 1990/91, initially retaining their pre privatisation geographic and functional bases. The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board becameScottish Hydro-Electric, whilst the Southern Electricity Board becameSouthern Electric.[9]
Scottish and Southern Energy was formed in September 1998, following a merger between Scottish Hydro-Electric andSouthern Electric.[10] In August 2000, Scottish and Southern Energy acquired theSWALEC energy supply business.[10] SWALEC operate exclusively in Wales while SSE operates in Scotland and England.[11]
In July 2004, the company acquired theFerrybridge andFiddlers Ferry power stations for £250 million.[12] In January 2008, it went on to buyAirtricity Holdings, anIrish wind farm business.[13] In August 2009, it agreed to purchase Uskmouth power station from Welsh Power Group.[14] In April 2010, the company purchased thenatural gasexploration andproduction assets ofHess Corporation in three areas of theUnited Kingdom Continental Shelf – Everest/Lomond, Easington and Bacton.[15]
In January 2010, Scottish and Southern Energy shortened its name to SSE.[16]
In November 2017, it was announced that SSE was looking to separate from its retail subsidiary which would then merge with theNpower division of rivalInnogy.[17] It was planned that SSE shareholders will own 65.6% of thedemerged entity and Innogy would hold the remainder.[18] The resulting company would have been listed on the London Stock Exchange and included npower's residential and business retail business, and SSE's residential energy supply and home services business, excluding its business in Ireland. Although the merger received preliminary regulatory clearance from theCompetition and Markets Authority on 30 August 2018,[19] and full clearance was given on 10 October 2018,[20] it was abandoned on 17 December 2018, with the companies blaming "very challenging market conditions".[21]
In September 2019, SSE announced that it would be selling its retail business, SSE Energy Services, toOVO Energy: the transaction was completed in January 2020.[22] Its customers were migrated to the OVO Energy brand by 2023.[23][24]
In November 2019, SSE moved its UK business into a new Swiss holding company, confirming that it had done so following the Labour Party's pledge to take it into state ownership.[25] It said the move was:
an additional safeguard, which SSE does not believe would be required in practice, should SSE's electricity networks businesses and interests in SGN become the subject of proposed legislation for nationalisation.
The Labour Party said:
The UK's energy networks are vital strategic infrastructure on which we all rely. You cannot boil a kettle, heat your home or run a business without the grid. The idea that private owners, who have been ripping off the public, would move offshore in an attempt to prolong the rip-off illustrates just why we need the grid back in public hands.[26]
In August 2021, SSE agreed to sell its 33.3% stake in gas distribution companySGN for £1.2 billion.[27]
SSE Thermal operates a series of UK power stations,[28] whileSSE Renewables builds and operates onshore and offshorewind farms in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and hashydroelectric operations in Scotland.[29] Jointly owned with American waste management companyWheelabrator Technologies, Multifuel Energy Ltd operates multi-fuel power stations atFerrybridge, West Yorkshire.[30]
SSE became the largest officially accreditedLiving Wage Employer in the United Kingdom in 2013. All its employees across the United Kingdom were guaranteed to receive the then-Living Wage rate of at least £7.85 an hour in 2013.[31]
In October 2014, SSE became the first company on the FTSE 100 to be awarded theFair Tax Mark which is an independent accreditation process for identifying companies making an effort to be transparent about their tax affairs.[32]
The company currently sponsors theSSE Arena in Belfast.[33] It previously sponsoredWembley Arena in London andThe Hydro in Glasgow, but the naming rights of these venues switched to OVO with the sale of its retail supply division.[34][35]
In February 2022, the company signed up to theUN's Women Empowerment Principles, an initiative to support women in the workplace which was founded byUnited Nations Global Compact andUN Women.[36]
In April 2013, industry regulatorOfgem fined SSE £10.5 million for mis-selling gas and electricity.[37]
In September 2020, industry regulatorOfgem fined SSE £2.06 million for failing to publish information about the future availability of its generation capacity in a timely manner. SSE co-operated fully with Ofgem's investigation.[38]
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