Visit By Commissioner

Scottish & Southern Energy PLC
17 July 2006


                     VISIT BY COMMISSIONER ANDRIS PIEBALGS


European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs is spending today at the Perth
headquarters of Scottish and Southern Energy plc ('SSE') as part of a two-day
visit to Scotland.


In the course of his visit, the Commissioner is meeting senior members of SSE's
management team and other representatives of the energy sector in Scotland,
touring its Energy Management Centre and visiting its Sustainable Energy
Demonstration House.


Tomorrow, the Commissioner will visit the Moray Firth where SSE and its partner,
Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd, expect to install in the next few weeks two 5MW
(megawatt) wind turbines 25km off the coast in 45 metres of water, making it the
world's deepest offshore wind farm.


Electricity generated by the two turbines will be used to power the Beatrice oil
platform which, in turn, will provide a base from which to carry out turbine
monitoring and maintenance of the performance of the two turbines.


The installation of the turbines will be a key milestone in a £35m demonstrator
project which has been funded by the European Union, Scottish Executive and
Department of Trade and Industry, as well as Talisman Energy (UK) and SSE.


Commissioner Piebalgs said:


'In today's world, we need to fight climate change and ensure that we have
secure supplies of energy. We should, therefore, be ambitious in the field of
renewable energy and I am looking forward to learning more about the projects
here in Scotland.'


Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said:


'Commissioner Piebalgs' visit is timely and an invaluable opportunity to discuss
both the Commission's Energy Green Paper and the UK energy policy review. We
share the Commission's commitment to an energy strategy which balances
sustainable development, competitiveness and security of supply.


'The Beatrice project is a leading-edge opportunity to examine the technical and
commercial viability of deep water wind farms. This demonstration phase will
give us the information we need to determine whether deep water wind farms are
likely to provide a new means of delivering significant amounts of zero carbon
energy.'



Enquiries to:
Scottish and Southern Energy
Alan Young, Director of Corporate Communications        0870 900 0410
Denis Kerby, Corporate Communications                   0870 900 0410



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