SSE profits rise 38%

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch, says it's hard to know how much companies are paying for their energy which makes it difficult to work out if consumers are getting a fair deal.

The Executive Director of consumer group Which? says the latest profits show why the Government needs to set up an independent review to look at whether recent price increases are justified.

Richard Lloyd said: "Without greater scrutiny of energy prices, consumers simply will not believe that they're getting a good deal."

Labour's Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Caroline Flint, says customers will not understand how energy companies can get away with inflation-busting price rises when their profits are already increasing. She said:

"In the wake of the allegations this week about price fixing in the electricity and gas markets, the time has come for a complete overhaul of our energy market.

"We need a One Nation government to break the dominance of the energy giants, open up the energy market, protect vulnerable customers from being ripped off and create a tough new energy regulator with the power to force energy companies to pass on savings to consumers."

The Chief Executive of SSE, Ian Marchant, said it was "unfortunate" the company had to put prices up in October, but said it was necessary to stop the retail division losing money. Figures show the average profit made by supplying energy to SSE customers works out at 20 pence per account per week.

Ian Marchant posted a full message on YouTube. Watch his video here.