Power giant Scottish and Southern Energy today said it was planning a new incentive scheme that could help ‘green’ customers save about £100 a year on their bills. The company said it was launching a system of ‘energy efficiency credits’ which its 7.7 million customers could earn through measures including cutting gas and electricity costs by 10 per cent, buying low-energy appliances and installing loft insulation. Customers will be able to use the credits towards their SSE energy bills or on further energy efficiency measures. The initiative came as SSE the UK’s second largest electricity generator set itself a new target to cut CO2 emissions from its power stations by 20 per cent by 2015/16. The Perth-based company also unveiled underlying pre-tax profits of £1.08 billion for the year to March 31, more than 23 per cent ahead of last year and marginally stronger than expectations. SSE is the company behind Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro Electric and Swalec in Wales. Its Chief Executive Ian Marchant said: ‘We need to change the way we consume electricity and gas in the UK. Our homes account for a quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions. ‘It may seem odd for a company to actively work to reduce demand for its core products, but we believe that it’s the only way forward that is sustainable for our business and for society as a whole.’ SSE added that its new CO2 target would save an estimated five million tonnes of carbon emissions if achieved by 2015/16. It added that its policy of not passing on the full impact of recent rises in wholesale energy costs had seen it gain more than 3.3 million customers over the past five years – a 74 per cent increase. The company reduced gas bills by 12 per cent and electricity bills by 5 per cent in March in a price war which has gripped the energy sector since British Gas first unveiled reduced tariffs in March.

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