It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with Southern Electric in 1998.

The company was formed on 1 April 1989 to acquire the assets of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board ahead of electricity privatisation in the United Kingdom under the name North of Scotland Electricity plc.

[1] The Scottish Hydro name was used as a brand name by SSE plc for supplying gas and electricity in Scotland, and by Scottish Hydro-Electric Power Distribution Ltd, the distribution network operator in the north of Scotland.

In 2011, power consumption of the north was largely handled by Scottish Hydro.

[3] The fuel sources used by SSE Energy Supply to generate power during the year 2015-16[4] and 2021-22[5] were as follows: