Scottish Hydro plc was a Public Electricity Supplier formed on 1 August 1989 after a change of name from North of Scotland Electricity plc on that date. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

 and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index

FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....

 but merged with Southern Electric

Southern Electric

Southern Electric plc was an electricity company in the UK. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange as SSE . Southern Electric merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc in 1998 forming SSE. Since then SSE bought SWALEC and Atlantic Electric and Gas...

 in 1998.

History

The company was originally formed on 1 April 1989 to acquire the assets of North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board

North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board

The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board was founded to design, construct and manage hydroelectricity projects in the Highlands of Scotland...

 ahead of electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 privatisation in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 under the name North of Scotland Electricity plc. The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

 in June 1991. The company then merged with the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 Public Electricity Supplier Southern Electric

Southern Electric

Southern Electric plc was an electricity company in the UK. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange as SSE . Southern Electric merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc in 1998 forming SSE. Since then SSE bought SWALEC and Atlantic Electric and Gas...

 plc to become Scottish and Southern Energy plc on the 14 December 1998.

Operations

The Scottish Hydro name is now used as a brand name by SSE plc for supplying gas and electricity in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and by Scottish Hydro-Electric Power Distribution Ltd the Distribution Network Operator

Distribution Network Operator

Distribution network operators are companies licensed to distribute electricity in Great Britain by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets....

in the north of Scotland. The power consumption of the north is largely handled by Scottish Hydro.