UK power giant says energy industry on the brink of radical change

Burton Wold wind farm in Northamptonshire. Photograph: David Sillitoe

Britain's second biggest gas and electricity supplier, Scottish and Southern Energy, warned today the industry stood on the brink of radical change.

Centralised fossil fuel fired generation would have to give way to a combination of energy efficiency and diversity of generation.

"The days of meeting an unchecked demand for energy through monolithic carbon intensive power stations are coming to an end. Increasingly the emphasis will be on energy efficiency, renewables, cleaned up fossil fuel plant and micro generation," the company said in a statement accompanying its full-year results.