£12m to help the badly-off:
One of Britain's biggest energy companies is handing nearly £12million to its 500,000 poorest customers. Scottish & Southern Energy is scrapping the premium on pre-payment meters for electricity from January. The move will cut £23 or six per cent - off half a million annual energy bills. Boss Ian Marchant said it was good news for hard-up families who typically opt for pre-payment keys. SSE is the fourth power giant to scrap the premium in the past two years. But watchdogs called for it to scrap the premium on gas bills too given bumper half year results. Marchant yesterday revealed that SSE made a monster £445.4m profit in the six months to October that's £2.5m a day. It is also handing £130m to shareholders in dividends up 9.4 per cent. Energy watch campaign director Adam Scorer renewed calls for a government probe into the energy market. He said: "The market is dominated by companies such as SSE, which generates and supplies electricity. "We question whether this vertical integration is good for competition and delivers the most affordable price for customers." SSE has announced three price rises this year - with the latest due to hit its seven million customers from January 1. But the group, which trades as Scottish Hydro Electric, Southern Electric and Atlantic, is still £160 cheaper for dual-fuel customers than British Gas. Marchant said he did no expect to be involved in the £12billion bidding war for rival Scottish Power. Spanish group Iberdrola is considering a takeover. 16.11.06