Scottish Power Limited, trading as ScottishPower, is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland.

ScottishPower is the distribution network operator for Central and Southern Scotland, Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire and Shropshire.

In 1995 it acquired the regional electricity company MANWEB, which supplied Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire.

[14] Following the announcement of its acquisition of PacifiCorp, the group's share price rose but the company was now widely seen as vulnerable to a takeover.

[15] On 28 November 2006, the board of directors of ScottishPower agreed to an £11.6 billion takeover bid by the Spanish energy firm Iberdrola.

The offer was formally approved by shareholders at an EGM on 30 March 2007, effectively creating Europe's third largest utility company.

[20] In April 2008, Ofgem launched an investigation into allegations that ScottishPower abused their dominant market position relating to the electricity transmission network they own jointly in Scotland.

[21] Ofgem said it had launched its inquiry into Scottish Power and SSE under section 18 of the Competition Act, "based on a formal complaint alleging abuse of a dominant position in the electricity generation sector arising from constrained capacity on the transmission network.

This resulted in companies deliberately shutting their plants down when supplies are tight in order to receive a higher payment to start up again, increasing the system balancing costs at the expense of consumers.

In January 2009, Ofgem suspended the investigation, saying it would be more effective to deal with the wider problem than pursuing the specific case further.

[23] In November 2012, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) publicly listed ScottishPower as one of a number of companies that it had concerns about due to unsolicited telephone calls for marketing.

[32] The Energy Networks business contains three asset owning companies SP Transmission Ltd – holds the transmission licence for central and southern Scotland and owns the part of the Moyle Interconnector with Northern Ireland Electricity, SP Distribution Ltd – holds the distribution licence for central and southern Scotland and SP Manweb Plc – holds the distribution licence for North Wales, Merseyside, and Cheshire.

The 322 MW / 140 turbine site cost an estimated £300m and covers approximately 55 km2 (21 sq mi) of moorland south of Glasgow.