SSE and Hydro Benefit

Scottish & Southern Energy PLC
17 November 2003

Monday 17 November 2003



                        SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGY plc
                               AND HYDRO BENEFIT



Scottish and Southern Energy plc (SSE) has welcomed the decision announced today
by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (Ofgem) that Hydro Benefit should
be abolished with formal effect from April 2005.



Hydro Benefit in its current form was created when the Scottish electricity
industry was privatised in 1991, a year after privatisation in England and
Wales.  It is a formula-based payment made by SSE's generation business to its
distribution business which was originally established to reflect the relatively
high cost of distributing electricity over the north of Scotland.



In 2002/03, the value of Hydro Benefit paid out by SSE's generation business was
£38.6m.  To date, it has had a total implied value of almost £500m since
privatisation and will total £570m by the end of the current price control
period in 2005.



The abolition of Hydro Benefit, which was a unique feature of Scottish
electricity privatisation, will remove an anomaly and will also assist progress
towards the introduction of British Electricity Transmission and Trading
Arrangements (BETTA), scheduled for April 2005.



Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said:



'We have always supported in principle the development of a single set of
arrangements for electricity transmission and trading in Great Britain.  The
abolition of Hydro Benefit will remove a legacy from electricity privatisation
which is no longer appropriate as we move towards a modern, single British
electricity market.  It is, therefore, very welcome.  This is a significant step
forward which also helps pave the way for the introduction of BETTA in 2005.'



For further information please contact:


Scottish and Southern Energy plc
Alan Young - Director of Corporate Communications                             [phone]
Denis Kerby - Investor and Media Relations Manager                            [phone]

Financial Dynamics
Andrew Dowler                                                                 [phone]






                      This information is provided by RNS
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