OREANDA-NEWS. An independent study conducted by accountancy firm PwC has found that SSE delivered a GBP 9.1bn boost to the UK economy last year.

SSE's GBP 9.1bn economic contribution is comparable in scale to the 2012 Olympic Games, which gave a one-off GBP 9.9bn boost to the UK economy.

The report examines the direct contribution of SSE to tax revenue, capital expenditure, employment and GDP. It also considers the indirect economic impact of SSE's supply chain spending, as well as the impact generated in the wider economy as a result of wage expenditure through its own employees, and those in the wider supply chain.

It is the first time SSE, which commissioned the study, has evaluated its economic contribution in this way. The energy company announces its Annual Results on May 21.

The report's main findings are:

In Financial Year (FY) 2013 SSE contributed GBP 9.1bn to UK GDP (equivalent to 0.7% of total UK GDP).

In FY13 SSE supported 112,000 jobs in the UK (equivalent to 0.4% of total UK employment).

For every SSE employee in the UK, 4.8 further jobs were supported elsewhere in the UK. SSE's employment multiplier was 5.8, compared with a UK average of 3.1.

In FY13 SSE contributed GBP 1.4bn to Scottish GDP (equivalent to 1.4% of total Scottish GDP) and supported 17,000 jobs in Scotland.

In FY13 SSE contributed GBP 536m to tax revenue as cash payments for taxes borne and collected.

In FY13, SSE invested GBP 1.5bn in fixed capital assets.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, Chief Executive of SSE, said: “Energy companies are under more scrutiny than ever so it's right we offer as much transparency as we can. We know we're investing more than we make in profit. We know SSE invests around GBP 1.5bn a year into maintaining the energy infrastructure. This report is a serious attempt to see how that translates into economic benefit and job creation across the UK.

“PwC tells us that in 2013 SSE boosted the economy by GBP 9.1bn. For context the Olympic Games in 2012 delivered GBP 9.9bn to the economy. London 2012 was a one off, whereas SSE makes an Olympic-sized contribution every year.”

The report also examined SSE's contribution to Northern Ireland's GDP and employment. In FY13 SSE contributed GBP 242m of gross value added to GDP through its supply chain expenditure.

In an attempt to drill down into the effects of specific projects that SSE is involved the study developed two case studies in Scotland: the Beauly-Denny transmission line and the Fairburn wind farm.

It found the 220km of 400kV transmission line in central Scotland from Beauly to Denny represents an expected investment of GBP 675m and it supported around 2,000 jobs a year during the initial two years of its construction.