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Scottish and Southern energy to cut pricesUK, January 31, 2007 - Scottish and Southern Energy has written to its seven million domestic customers to confirm that it will cut gas and electricity prices "within the next few months". The company, which pushed though a 12.2% increase to gas prices just 28 days ago, declined to say by how much it plans to reduce bills. Such a move, probably most likely to happen in April once the coldest weather has passed, would be the first reduction in domestic gas and electricity prices for six years. SSE, which supplies energy as Southern Electric, SWALEC, Scottish Hydro Electric and Atlantic Electric and Gas, said it had made the decision in light of the sustained fall in wholesale prices that has occurred since it last announced an increase in prices, in September 2006. Alistair Phillips-Davies, energy supply director of SSE, said: "Since last September, we have made clear our intention to cut gas and electricity prices if there was a sustained fall in wholesale prices which would allow us to do so, and I am very pleased that we have now been able to confirm this. "We are now monitoring costs and evaluating how we will be able to pass savings on to customers. In the meantime, our customers know they paid on average around £320 less for their gas and electricity than customers of British Gas did during the period of rising prices. Our policy of fair pricing will continue." SSE picked up one million new customers last year by offering some of the lowest prices. However, shareholders may want to ask whether the administrative costs of processing the January 1 price rise was money well spent given that the company will have to go through the whole thing again in April - and will probably return prices to the same level. |
