Re Alliance

Scottish & Southern Energy PLC
7 November 2000



 SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGY TO SELL GAS AND ELECTRICITY ON BTOPENWORLD SHOP

In  a  move that will further strengthen its e-commerce strategy and  internet
based  business, Scottish and Southern Energy announced today that it  is  the
first  energy company to offer gas and electricity via BTopenworld, BT's  mass
market  internet  business.   White goods will also  be  made  available  from
hienergyshop.co.uk,  Scottish and Southern Energy's  online  retail  appliance
site.

Scottish   and  Southern  Energy's  competitive  energy  tariffs  will   offer
significant  savings  for  BTopenworld's domestic  customers,  who  will  also
benefit from discounts of up to 20% on the average high street price for  more
than 1,000 appliances available from hienergyshop.co.uk.

BT and Scottish and Southern Energy are also close to agreeing the launch of a
site which will promote Simple2 stakeholder pensions to the BT customer base.

Commenting on this move, Jim Forbes, Chief Executive of Scottish and  Southern
Energy  said: 'This partnership offers an excellent opportunity for our Group,
with  one  of the most respected companies in the UK.  It allows both Scottish
and  Southern  Energy and BTopenworld to broaden the range  of  products  they
offer to their existing customers.

'It  also provides an additional route to market our growing range of products
which  now  includes our core energy products, retail appliances and financial
services.'

Tony  Harris,  Senior  Vice President for BTopenworld  said:  'BTopenworld  is
focused  on  building a first rate internet service that  makes  it  easy  for
everyone to benefit from the Internet's potential.

'Our   relationship  with  Scottish  and  Southern  Energy   will   strengthen
BTopenworld's  ability to save people time, money and provide a  real  benefit
all within a secure setting.'

BTopenworld  Shop  is  available on BTopenworld's  new  high-speed,  always-on
Internet   access  portal  based  on  broadband  technology   and   BTinternet
(www.btopenworldshop.com/).
     
                                   
For further information:
Carolyn McAdam/Denis Kerby/Hazel Fowlie
Scottish and Southern Energy plc                  0870 9000410

Janet Aikman/Jayne Bassham
Spreckley Partners Ltd                            020 7388 9988

Andrew Dowler/Ben Foster
Financial Dynamics                                020 7831 3113

About BTopenworld
BTopenworld is BT's new international mass market Internet business  which  is
focused increasingly on broadband and mobile services. It brings together in a
single  business  BT's  existing  mass-market UK  and  international  Internet
service   providers  (ISPs),  portals  and  Open,  BT's  digital   interactive
television joint venture. The business is also responsible for Genie, Europe's
leading mobile portal and service provider.
     
BTopenworld today has 3.5 million equity ISP customers, making it one  of  the
largest  Internet companies in Europe.  It is responsible for the building  of
platforms, aggregation of content and the marketing of its services.

BTopenworld  joint  venture businesses, investments and subsidiaries  include:
LineOne; Open; Excite UK; Yu.com (Belgium); Arrakis (Spain); Infinito (Italy);
Mantra Online (India) and BT Looksmart.

For further information on BTopenworld Broadband visit www.btopenworld.com.

About Scottish and Southern Energy
Scottish and Southern Energy is the UK's second largest electricity and  third
largest  gas supplier with close to 5 million energy customers throughout  the
UK.   It operates the UK's largest and most efficient electricity distribution
network.   Scottish  and Southern Energy accounts for around  10%  of  the  UK
generation market and is the largest generator from renewable resources in the
UK.