Scottish Hydro at a Glance
- Scottish Hydro is SSE’s trading name in Scotland
- Scottish Hydro’s prices are relatively high compared to competition
- Scottish Hydro’s customer care reputation and complaints performance is good
Are Scottish Hydro and SSE the same company?
With energy market deregulation in 1989, Scottish Hydro (then North of Scotland Electricity) bought North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. Its 1998 merger with Southern Electric let to the creation of Southern and Scottish Energy (SSE). Today, the Scottish Hydro brand is used by SSE to supply electricity and gas to customers in Scotland.
Scottish Hydro is therefore part of SSE, a supplier that has activities at all stages of the energy supply chain: generation, distribution and supply. SSE employed 18,500 people in 2013 (CEO: Alistair Phillips-Davies) and generated £28 billion in revenue from supplying electricity and gas to 9.6 million domestic and business customers.
As a trading name of SSE, Scottish Hydro shares the SSE fuel mix, which relies on coal and natural gas as the following chart shows:
Scottish Hydro’s current electricity and gas prices
As an SSE trading name, Scottish Hydro has three tariffs: a one-year fixed price tariff, a 2.5 year fixed-price tariff and a variable-price, standard, tariff. Both fixed-price plans have heavy exit fees (£50 per fuel) and overall, in Scotland (where Scottish Hydro operates), prices are relatively high compared to both independent energy suppliers and other big six electricity and gas suppliers.
To put this into perspective, here are estimated annual Scottish Hydro costs for customers on average UK energy consumption (3,200 kWh/year for electricity and 13,500 kWh/year for gas):
| Tariffs | Estimated annual cost (GBP, fual-fuel) | ||
| Tariff name | Conditions | Northern Scotland | Southern Scotland |
| 1 Year Fixed Price | - Fixed energy prices during one year - £50 exit fee per fuel (so £100 dual fuel) |
1141.07 | 1076.23 |
| Fixed Price Mar 17 | - Fixed energy prices until 31 March 2017 - £50 exit fee per fuel (so £100 dual fuel) |
1214.68 | 1146.14 |
| Standard | - Variable tariffs - No contract end date - No exit fees |
1214.68 | 1146.14 |
Contact Scottish Hydro
Scottish Hydro Phone Number
Customer service lines are generally open between 8am and 8pm on weekdays and between 8am and 2pm on Saturdays.
By Email
Send them an email on:
By Post
Customers can write to Scottish Hydro at the following postal address:
Scottish Hydro
Inveralmond House
200 Dunkeld Road
Perth
PH1 3AQ
Scottish Hydro Customer Reviews
Complaints performance
Scottish Hydro complaints performance falls into SSE’s complaints handling report. Overall, SSE receives relatively few complaints given its size. However, of the Big Six electricity and gas suppliers, it does not resolve them the fastest. Indeed, of the 217,253 complaints addressed to SSE between January and March 2014, 82.11% were resolved by the end of the next working day.
What their customers say
Overall, customers seem satisfied with Scottish Hydro. Those who complain often refer Scottish Hydro’s relatively high prices compared to some other electricity and gas suppliers. However, Tonik (same customer service, billing, prices, etc.) has more reviews and represents a more accurate picture of service quality.