Increased woes have been reported on the matter of the potential of the UK exiting the European Union; SSE has stated that the move may put its business at risk should a perceived period of legislative and, or regulatory uncertainty pursue.

Of course, in the short term SEE has reported that there would not be a direct risk to the provision of its service to customers, and it is expected that the industry giant will be able to continue investing back into its business and infrastructure as planned, regardless of the decision made on the EU referendum. Yet, in the longer term, the effects of drawn out regulatory and legislative changes may cause a degree of risk for SEE, as it most likely would also effect other key industry organisations.

As for predictions over the course of the year, SSE has predicted a similar degree of success this year as was achieved in the last, perhaps a nod to the potential uncertainty of the market as a whole, yet also maintaining a positive outlook on being able to turn a meaningful profit in various areas of the business this year. Specifically, those profits pertaining to networks operating are expected to see a degree of increase, with wholesale operating profits expected to maintain, and those retail operations expected to see a reduction due to reduced energy-supply customers.

Key areas attributed to the mixed predictions on profits can be attributed to the challenges faced by dropping prices for commodities, as well as increased competition within the retail market. However, Gregor Alexander, Finance Director of SEE commented towards a more positive outlook, saying: “Nevertheless, completion of the CMA investigation and the UK government’s consultation on the future of the electricity capacity market imply progress towards a more settled regulatory and policy framework.”

With this in place, a far more positive outlook could be perceived for next year, and we can only expect predictions for the year to follow suit.