nergy giant SSE today pledged to invest £24 billion in green power over the next decade as it fought off the threat of a windfall tax on bumper profits.
Those profits for the year to March jumped 15% to £1.5 billion, a figure likely to anger customers facing power bills this year of perhaps £2,800.
On the green energy investment pledge, Business and Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: “This is a significant investment from SSE and a huge vote of confidence in our energy security plans. SSE will help make our energy cleaner and cheaper, while supporting high quality, green jobs right across the UK.”
Just yesterday the FT reported that chancellor Rishi Sunak was drawing up plans for a windfall tax not just on BP and Shell, but on the energy suppliers such as British Gas, EDF and SSE.
Today’s announcement may at least mean SSE is spared, and puts pressure on the others.
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Three of London’s top chefs share the best way to cook with alcoholIt is assumed the government can’t reasonably impost energy investment targets and a windfall tax at the same time, however bad the cost of living crisis becomes.
Critics of the investment scheme may note that SSE paid 81p per share in dividends last year — an annual payout of £840 million.
Pre pandemic they were paying almost £1 per share.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, CEO of SSE, said: “We’ve already achieved a lot, but we’re only just getting started.”
He is paid in excess of £2 million, according to reports.
Yesterday, the chief executive of energy regulator Ofgem said the energy cap would spike with the average household set to pay more than £800 for its average energy bill.
Jonathan Brearley, told parliament’s business, energy and industrial strategy committee (BEIS) the figure was based on the most accurate estimate.
Energy prices caused the consumer prices index (CPI) to rocket to 9% in April, as the government came under attack for forcing the UK public into a choice between “heating and eating”.
SSE pledged to reach its target on renewable energies as part of its net zero acceleration programme as the UK attempts to switch from its reliance on fossil fuels to renewables that has been brought into sharp focus by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Perth-based company added that lower renewables outputs due to unfavourable weather were offset by a stronger performance from the company’s flexible generation assets including hydro and gas-fired power stations, which “provided a critical role maintaining security of supply”, according to the company.
