Glasgow smart meter firm increases profits

MARK WILLIAMSON

meters and benefiting from the associated data contracts/assets.”

The company highlighted the scale of the opportunity that is being created amid the official drive to get firms and consumers to use smart meters to help with efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Chairman Willie MacDiarmid noted UK energy suppliers must fit around 53 million new smart meters in more than 30 million premises by the end of 2020.

The roll out is creating the demand for engineers.

“Our training centres continue to seek out new sources for engineers, and as a result we have established new relationships with third parties such as the Armed Forces,” said Mr Foy.

Revenues increased 14 per cent to £36.8m in the six months to June, against £32.3m last time. A PLAN to “stabilise and improve” Scotland’s Common Agricultural Policy payment process has been unveiled by Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing.

Speaking in Holyrood yesterday, Mr Ewing pledged his plan would tackle the “major causes of poor customer service, error and payment delay” in the Scottish Government’s rural payments system, which has suffered several years of IT misery as the £178 million computer installed to apply European farm support reforms – most importantly, the shift to area-based payments – has repeatedly failed to meet expectations.

Central to Mr Ewing’s plan is a measure he has already used more than once to calm industry concerns over delayed farm support payments – an interest-free loan scheme, whereby farmers can quickly access ScotGov funds equivalent to 90 per cent of their approximate CAP claim, with the balance payment coming at a later date when the computer is satisfied that their actual claim has been processed to the EU’s exacting regulations.

“We are absolutely committed to ensuring CAP entitlements are paid promptly and in full, and I am clear we have not achieved that aim in recent times,” conceded Mr Ewing.

“So in order to deliver payments in full and on a