UK energy firm SSE to split retail and wholesale arms

LONDON: British utility SSE said on Wednesday it will split its wholesale and retail divisions by March 2015, and will freeze its household energy prices until at least January 2016.

"We're making sure our own house is in order for the future by streamlining and simplifying our business," said chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies.

The company, Britain's biggest electricity provider, said it would also sell assets and businesses to raise 1 billion pounds ($1.65 billion) to reduce debt.

It also forecast capital investments of 1.6 billion pounds in 2014/15, above analyst estimates.