Perth-based SSE has shaved £3billion from its plans to invest in its energy production and networks businesses, partly due to planning and policy delays by the UK and Scottish governments.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, the SSE chief executive, said the company would cut its investment expectations to around £17.5bn “reflecting financial discipline" and "consent phasing in networks”.
It follows last month’s announcement that it would cut 300 jobs from its renewables business.
Mr Phillips-Davies told the Telegraph: “What we see on planning is that historically, policies haven’t been conducive to getting many planning consents approved.
“Our Berwick Bank offshore wind project has been on [Scottish] ministers’ desks for about three years now. In transmission our Argyll-Skye link project is well over two and a half years.”
Mr Phillips-Davies, who noted this will be his last time overseeing results for the firm before retiring, used the occasion to address electricity market reform.
He told Energy Voice that plans to introduce zonal pricing – a mechanism linking pricing to regional supply and demand – would be a “huge mistake”.
He added: “The government is considering ‘zonal pricing’ – a fundamental change to the UK electricity market which is one of the remaining options on the table following a market review kicked off by the previous government.
“We’ve been clear, as has anyone with a serious interest in building, making or investing in anything in this country: this would be a huge mistake. It risks creating a postcode lottery, where some households would pay £200–£300 more simply because of where they live.
“It would inject more than five years of uncertainty, raise the risks and costs of investments, and ultimately leave us more exposed to gas prices for longer. Ruling it out would generate an immediate boost to investment.”