Retail energy business continues weigh on SSE as sale progresses

SSE has booked a £489.1m exceptional charge against its household energy supply business in Britain, which it is in the process of selling to rival Ovo, as the unit continued to lose customers in the first half of its financial year. The FTSE 100 company said SSE Energy Services, as the retail business is formally known, had total customers of 6.15m in Britain as of September 30, down from 6.48m at the same point in 2018. This is expected to occur early next year if UK competition authorities decide not to launch an in-depth investigation.