Investment

Scottish & Southern Energy PLC
22 October 2007






                          SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGY

                 £6MILLION INVESTMENT IN VITAL ENERGI UTILITIES


Scottish and Southern Energy plc ('SSE') has today entered into an agreement
with Vital Energi Utilities Ltd, where SSE will invest £6million for a 30% share
of the business.


Vital Energi is an established energy services contractor that specialises in
the design, supply and installation of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and
District Heating systems in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors.
A typical CHP scheme generates electricity through the combustion of natural
gas, landfill gas or biomass and then supplies the electricity and 'waste' heat
to a local community.


SSE recently reached an agreement with Berkeley Homes (East Thames) Ltd, to
provide the energy services requirements for their major development, The
Warren, in south east London. Under the ESCO Agreement, SSE will be responsible
for installing an energy centre, including a CHP plant, which will serve over
450 apartments, a nursery unit, primary care trust and commercial units. SSE
will also undertake all associated heat, electricity and gas infrastructure,
metering and billing customer services, long-term operations and maintenance
services and all fuel procurement requirements. Vital Energi is SSE's main
contractor on this development and is responsible for all elements relating to
the installation of the required energy centre and the heat distribution
network.


Ian Marchant, SSE Chief Executive, said: 'Our investment in Vital Energi
demonstrates our commitment to providing sustainable solutions for our customers
throughout the UK and supports our existing Energy Services business. We believe
that towns and cities can play a significant role in fighting climate change,
through the use of more efficient community heating projects which can also
generate electricity. In locations with high heat demand density and smaller
property sizes, community heating with CHP is likely to be one of the most
effective and economic ways to deliver Carbon savings.'


Vital Energi owner and Chief Executive, Gary Fielding, sees great potential for
his business in partnering with SSE. 'This is a very positive move forward for
Vital Energi and will allow us to build from our existing position as the
leading provider of community energy solutions in the UK.'

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