ScottishPower is one of the UK’s six largest energy suppliers. At the end of 2010 we supplied electricity and gas to 5.23 million customers and provided electricity connections to 3.48 million customers.

During 2010, energy prices and fuel poverty continued to be the dominant issues for energy suppliers and our customers. For the second consecutive year, we experienced a severe winter, with temperatures plunging well below minus 20^o C and heavy snow falls from November through to January.

Energy prices during 2010 continued to be affected by rises in the cost of wholesale oil and gas and indirect costs, including the many millions of pounds the Government requires energy companies to spend annually on customer energy efficiency and social spend programmes.

In its Energy Bill 2010-2011, the Coalition Government proposes sweeping changes in the energy sector’s obligations to reducing carbon emissions and helping vulnerable customers. The key change is the introduction of their flagship Green Deal, the aim of which is to encourage energy efficiency improvements in properties, which will be paid for over time by savings in home energy bills.

This will be supported by a new Energy Company Obligation, which will replace the existing Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Saving Programme that will oblige energy companies to target funding for energy efficiency improvements at low income and vulnerable households and hard to heat homes.

In addition, from April 2011 a new fuel poverty policy, the Warm Home Discount Scheme, replaces energy suppliers’ existing voluntary social spend programmes to alleviate fuel poverty with a mandatory spending programme.

Also in 2010, Ofgem started a review on the competitive effectiveness and transparency of the UK energy market, to see if any further changes were necessary to protect consumers.

During the year we worked hard to improve the service we provide to customers in terms of managing our electricity network and our customers’ experience of the sales, metering and billing processes, while offering innovative new products designed to help customers make the most of their home energy.

Recently this has included the ground breaking Unifi energy monitor, which allows home electricals to be switched on and off remotely (See Products and Pricing section for more information).