Big six supplier SSE speeds up home energy spin-off plans

One of Britain’s big six energy suppliers, SSE, stepped up plans to exit the UK retail market on Wednesday as it lost another 550,000 customers.

The energy supplier wants to separate its infrastructure business, which owns electricity networks, power plants and windfarms, from the retail services business, which provides power and boiler cover to customers.

Former Dixons Carphone UK chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe was today named executive chair of the retail division, called SSE Energy Services, giving the group greater autonomy.

Her task will be to pursue a stock market listing or sale of the division by the end of next year.

SSE was forced to abandon plans last November to merge its UK retail supply arm with Npower, forcing it to seek alternative arrangements.

Customer numbers fell to 6.25 million at the end of March from 6.8 million last year.

Adjusted profit before tax was down 38% at £725.7 million.

Chief executive Richard Gillingwater said: “While our financial results clearly fell well short of what we hoped to achieve at the start of the year, we’ve made significant progress towards our ambition to be a leading energy company in a low-carbon world.”

Labour’s plans to nationalise the electricity networks could also prove a threat to SSE’s network.

SSE said there was huge uncertainty about the policy.