9am Briefing: Energy firms facing massive shake-up

A SHAKE-UP of the energy market will see one of the “big six” energy companies offering its electricity for sale to any household supplier in one of the biggest changes to the sector for a decade, it was reported today.

According to reports, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) will break ranks with rival utilities by auctioning its power on the open market.

The move comes after Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged during his party conference speech to break up the “rigged market” in energy which delivers massive profits to a few giant companies and swollen bills to consumers.

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* FORMER Death Row inmate Kenny Richey has announced his engagement to his psychic girlfriend.

The Edinburgh-born Scot asked clairvoyant Karen Charves to be his bride, it was reported today.

Mr Richey said: “Karen and I have moved into our own place and are getting married. I asked her a few weeks ago. We haven’t set a date yet though.”

* HOLDING a public inquiry into the city’s trams fiasco would be a distraction to the current project, the Scottish Government has said.

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Finance secretary John Swinney ruled out the possibility of holding the inquest, adding that he wanted to “let the project get on and get more progress under its belt” before analysing what went wrong.

It comes as director of city development Dave Anderson admitted the local authority made a “big mistake” in agreeing to shoulder certain responsibilities when the contract was being drawn up.

* FIREFIGHTERS were called to tackle a blaze at a row of disused cottages in south Edinburgh last night.

Crews were called to the one-storey terraced buildings opposite the Straiton Retail Park around 8.40pm.

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Around 15 firefighters uses houses to dampen the fire and prevent it from spreading. A spokesman for the fire service said extra crews were called to the scene, but that no one was in the buildings.

* A BID to rescue a city theatre has been called off after campaigners failed to raise the £2 million required to take it on.

City council chiefs will now sell the Stockbridge Theatre, which has been a fixture in the Capital for more than 40 years.

Although its funding was cut in 2008 and it has not hosted a play in two years, locals were keen to revive it, and resisted moves by the local authority to turn into a housing or leisure complex.