SSE sees profits jump in wake of cold snap
22/05/2013 00:00:00
Energy giant SSE, one of the UK’s ‘Big Six’ energy suppliers, has seen profits at its household energy arm jump by 28% in the wake of increased energy usage during Britain’s extended cold snap.
Overall, pre-tax profits at the firm jumped by 5.6% to £1.41bn, with the supplier outlining that consumption of gas had increased by 21% over 2012/13 – which includes the bitterly cold start to the year – while electricity usage climbed by 5%.
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SSE also warned that consumers’ could face another hike to their energy bills as a result of more than £80 in additional costs per dual fuel customer in 2013/14.
It added: "Unless there is a sustained reduction in prices in wholesale gas and electricity markets, it is highly likely that these additional costs will eventually have to be reflected in higher prices for household customers."
However, the company argued that it would "resist this trend of higher costs for as long as possible to shield customers from the unwelcome impact of higher prices."
The news follows British Gas owner Centrica’s announcement that plummeting temperatures at the start of the year saw residential gas usage increase by 18% and electricity usage rise by 3%.
Sir Roger Carr, Chairman of Centrica admitted that increased energy usage over the winter, would translate to "higher costs [for consumers] at a time when people are already hard-pressed".
It also argued that that the "strong performance" from the cold-winter is set to keep the firm on track for pre-tax profits of £602m.
Recent research by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) revealed that the spiralling cost of energy bills is continuing to weigh heavy on consumers’ minds, with research revealing that 60% are concerned about meeting the cost of gas and electricity.
To get the most competitive energy tariff for your needs, you can compare gas and electricity with Money Expert.