April 28, 2004

SSE Acquisitions

Scottish and Southern Energy plc has today completed the acquisition of the assets of Atlantic Electric & Gas Limited (in administrative receivership) from the Receivers, KPMG LLP. The total consideration is £90.7 million in cash, predominantly for the customer debt book but also for over 300,000 customers. Scottish and Southern Energy is not taking on the bulk of the liabilities normally associated with an energy supply business.

Ofgem has received assurances from Scottish and Southern Energy Limited that customers will see a smooth transition to the company following its purchase of Atlantic Electric and Gas Limited's customer contracts. This follows the appointment of administrative receivers, KPMG, at Atlantic .

Energylinx understands that these arrangements offer all Atlantic 's gas and electricity customers a continuing supply, initially under the same terms and conditions that they had with Atlantic Energy.

Scottish and Southern Energy has told Ofgem that:

it is contacting all customers by letter to explain what has happened
it has also bought Atlantic's billing systems which means that it will bill customers on their normal billing cycle, initially using the Atlantic brand , and
customers who pay by direct debit do not have to change their payment arrangements
Customers should call the SSE customer call centre on 0870 160 2591 if they need further information and advice.

Atlantic is the seventh largest supplier of electricity and gas in the UK , with over 300,000 customers located throughout the country. The acquisition means Scottish and Southern Energy has more than 5.5 million energy customers, an increase of one million since the start of 2002, and is now the fourth largest energy supplier in the UK . The Atlantic brand will be retained, adding to Scottish and Southern Energy 's existing portfolio of three strong regional brands, Southern Electric, SWALEC and Scottish Hydro-Electric.

Atlantic currently has offices in Cardiff , where Scottish and Southern Energy already has a customer service centre, and in Gloucester . Its operations will be fully integrated with those of Scottish and Southern Energy , including the transfer of customers onto Scottish and Southern Energy 's customer service system. This will be achieved over the next few months. The acquisition will make a valuable contribution to Group earnings.

Scottish and Southern Energy Chief Executive Ian Marchant said: "This acquisition represents good value and complements our success in growing customer numbers organically over the past two years. I am committed to making sure that all our new customers will benefit from the high quality of customer service we offer, which remains a key differentiator in energy supply.

We believe that our commitment to customer service, combined with our ability to offer a diverse range of energy-related products, means we will be able to continue to grow our supply business in the future."

Posted by energylinx at 10:32 AM Technorati: Energy Prices

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