Green levies hit Scottish Power margin in 2013
SCOTTISH Power’s generation and supply business saw its profit margin decline by 3.5 per cent in 2013, the energy firm’s parent company Iberdrola said yesterday.
The Spanish firm said that the decreased margin was due to increased energy costs from the UK government’s green levies and lower coal-fired generation.
Scottish Power, like the rest of the big six suppliers, has been under pressure to reduce customers’ energy bills. It scaled back an 8.6 per cent price hike last month after the government rolled back some green charges and shifted them into general taxation.
Iberdrola also said that it plans to invest €3.9bn (£3.2bn) in the UK between 2014 and 2016, as it looks to move away from Spain’s challenging regulatory environment. The company said the money would be spent on expanding its transmission and distribution networks, alongside new offshore wind projects.
The group reported a seven per cent decline in net earnings in 2013 of €2.57bn, which it attributed to Spanish energy market reform.
Iberdrola is also increasing its investment in the US and Latin America over the next three years.