The company’s adjusted pre-tax profits for the financial year ending in March jumped to £2.18 billion, up from £1.16bn the previous year, with earnings from its gas-fired plants skyrocketing nearly four-fold to £1.24bn.

SSE, which operates hydroelectric plants, windfarms, and gas-fired plants across the north of Scotland and central southern England, unveiled ambitious plans to increase investment in low-carbon electricity, despite experiencing unfavourable weather conditions that impacted the output from its renewables division.

CEO Alistair Phillips-Davies announced a 40% increase in the company’s five-year investment plan, bringing it to a record £18bn. This follows a £2.8bn investment in low-carbon electricity infrastructure last year.

Mr Phillips-Davies stated: “Action, not just ambition, is what is needed to provide lasting solutions to the problems of climate change, energy affordability and security - and, with a record-breaking investment programme, that is what we are delivering.”

To fund these initiatives, SSE will rebase this year’s dividend to 60p, with plans for annual increases between 5% and 10% for the next three years.

Approximately half of the planned investment will be channelled into upgrading regulated electricity networks, with another 40% allocated for renewable energy generation projects such as battery and solar power. The remainder will be directed towards low-carbon flexible thermal generation and other ventures.

SSE, which was one of the UK’s domestic energy suppliers before selling its household supply arm to Ovo Energy in 2019, continues its strategic focus on renewable energy development. Last year, the company committed to a fivefold increase in its renewable energy output and an 80% reduction in its carbon intensity by the end of this decade.

A significant portion of last year’s green investment was directed to the development of Seagreen, Scottish offshore wind farm. The £3bn project, developed in partnership with France’s Totalenergies, is projected to generate 1.1 gigawatts of electricity annually once fully operational, sufficient to power more than one million homes.

In a move that reflects its commitment to low-carbon power, SSE has allocated £43 million to the Energy Generator’s Levy (EGL), the windfall tax on power generators introduced in January following last year’s spike in energy prices. The EGL is slated to run until the end of March 2028.

On the back of these financial results, yesterday shares in SSE rose 1.6% to finish at 1,900p.