Know Your Energy Supplier: SSE
July 6th, 2016
Headquartered at Perth Scotland, the energy giant SSE has operations across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Formerly known as Scottish and Southern Energy Plc, the company has been a leading generator and supplier of gas and electricity. It also provides services like gas storage, E&P, metering and more. It plays a dominating role in the UK’s energy market and has been an integral part of the ‘Big Six’ energy suppliers.
The company was formed in December 1998 and was formed as a single unit by merging Scottish Hydro Electric and Southern Electric. The company provides gas and electricity to 8.21 million customers (domestic and commercial) over the largest distribution network, which crosses England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. SSE is also very considerate about its customers and offers tickets through its reward programme.
SSE energy customer service rating
| New Rating | Old Rating |
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| 5-star reviews | 5-star reviews |
The results of an independent survey done by YouGov suggests that nearly 74% customers were happy by the services of SSE in the year 2015. The company has a huge customer base that vouch for its services and support.
SSE energy tariffs and prices
| Tariff Name | Tariff type | Cancellation fee | Annual Avg cost | |
| SSE – Online Energy v5 Paperless Billing | Fixed Tariff | £60.00 | £909.53 | Compare now |
| SSE – SSE 2 Year Fix v4 | Fixed Tariff | N.A | £1,062.35 | Compare now |
| SSE – SSE 1 Year Fix v2 | Fixed Tariff | NA | £1,041.57 | Compare now |
| SSE – Online Energy v4 | Fixed Tariff | £60.00 | £884.28 | Compare now |
SSE Fuel mix vs UK fuel mix
SSE historical Fuel mix
| Energy Source | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Coal | 4% | 7% | 9% | 25% | 31% |
| Gas | 67% | 65% | 56% | 35% | 27% |
| Nuclear | 4% | 5% | 5% | 7% | 3% |
| Renewable | 23% | 21% | 27% | 29% | 37% |
| Other | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 2% |
| CO2 Emission | 289 g/kWh | 310 g/kWh | 298 g/kWh | 380 g/kWh | 398 g/kWh |
| Nuclear Waste | 0.00030 g/kWh | 0.00031 g/kWh | 0.00038 g/kWh | 0.00047 g/kWh | 0.00023 g/kWh |
Energy price increases and decreases
Price changes in 2020
Price reduced by 1% – In line with OFGEM energy price cap, SSE announced price drop by 1% in February 2020.
Price changes in 2019
Price reduced by 6% – SSE dropped the price for 2 million customers on their standard variable tariff by 6% to comply with OFGEM price cap level in August 2019.
Price increase by 10% – A 10% energy price increase was announced by SSE in February 2019 which was in effect from 01/04/2020.
Price changes in 2018
Price increase by 6.7% – SSE announced that prices would increase for gas by 5.7% and electricity by 7.7% which was an average rise of 6.7% for customers on the standard variable tariff in May 2018.
Price changes in 2017
Price increase by 7% to 14.9% – SSE announced price rises in early 2017 for various electricity tariffs by 7% to 14.9% which affected around 4 million customers.
What type of energy tariffs offered by SSE for the UK households?
- SSE variable energy tariff – SSE can decide to change your standing charge and unit rate for kilowatt hour that you use.
- SSE fixed rate tariff – SSE will not change your unit rate and standing charges throughout the length of agreed contract. Your Direct debit may change if you use more or less energy.
- SSE pay as you go tariff – SSE will supply a key or a card which you can top up in order to use energy. If your top up runs out, you want be able to use any energy.
- SSE dual fuel tariff – It means SSE supplying both gas and electricity to you and will only receive one energy bill. Dual fuel tariff can be cheaper as SSE gives some discount for taking out a dual fuel tariff with them.
Complaint handling and customer service
| Reporting period in Q/Y | Q4 2019 | Q3 2019 | Q2 2019 | Q1 2019 | Q4 2018 |
| Total complaints received | 125,244 | 140,563 | 135,061 | 148,957 | 143,866 |
| Received per 100k customer accounts | 2239 | 2470 | 2351 | 2558 | 2427 |
| Total Complaints resolved | 121,608 | 137,876 | 135,412 | 145,483 | 144,800 |
| Resolved per 100k customer accounts | 2174 | 2423 | 2357 | 2498 | 2442 |
| Resolved within 48 hours | 78.3% | 81.5% | 79.9% | 80.8% | 78% |
| Resolved within 8 weeks | 96% | 96.2% | 96% | 96% | 95.9% |
Top 5 complaint reasons in percentages
| Reasons | Metering | Billing | Customer service | Payments | Change of supplier |
| Q4 2019 | 18% | 23% | 10% | 18% | 8% |
| Q3 2019 | |||||
| Q2 2019 | 20% | 30% | 11% | 14% | 6% |
| Q1 2019 | 22% | 31% | 10% | 15% | 5% |
| Q4 2018 | 31% | 35% | 14% | 5% | 7% |
Top 5 complaint reasons in percentages (Q4 2019)
Customer service – 38.8%
Bills and meter readings – 22.8%
Payments – 13.8%
My prices – 3.7%
Meter installation – 6.5%
How to contact SSE?
Register a complaint by visiting this web page,
https://sse.co.uk/help/contact-us?queryType=Gas%20and%20electricity&contactAbout=Complaints
Contact No: 0345 070 7373
If your complaint doesn’t resolve in time, you can contact Head of customer service team.
Email: [email protected]
Contact No: 0345 071 9853
Online: https://sse.co.uk/forms/general-enquiry
Post: PO Box 7506, Perth PH1 3QR
Ombudsman Services: Energy
Website: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/energy
Contact No: 0330 440 1624
Compare SSE business energy for work place
Whether you are a small, medium or a large business premises, SSE will supply energy to your workplace.
What does SSE energy offer for businesses?
- Smart meters for your workplace
- Renewable energy options
- Foxed, tracking, fully flexible and green business energy tariff options
- New energy connections
- Micro business support
Get in touch with SSE business
Call: 0345725256
Online form – get in touch by filling online form
Emergency Gas: 0800111999
Emergency Electricity: 105
Other energy suppliers like SSE Energy
- Eon
- EDF
- British Gas
- Scottish power
- nPower
- OVO energy
- Shell Energy
- Bulb energy
- Octopus energy
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