Annex of plc fined record£10.5m to sponsor marathon

A WIND energy company whose parent was last week hit with a record £10.5m fine from the UK energy regulator for misselling has been announced sponsor of the Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 marathon in June.
Paul Cooley, SSE Renewables General Manager, Mark H. Durkan MLA, adventurer Hannah Shields and Londonderry UK city of culture 2013 marathon course director Scott Galbraith announcing SSE's sponsorship of the event.Paul Cooley, SSE Renewables General Manager, Mark H. Durkan MLA, adventurer Hannah Shields and Londonderry UK city of culture 2013 marathon course director Scott Galbraith announcing SSE's sponsorship of the event.
Paul Cooley, SSE Renewables General Manager, Mark H. Durkan MLA, adventurer Hannah Shields and Londonderry UK city of culture 2013 marathon course director Scott Galbraith announcing SSE's sponsorship of the event.

SSE Renewables, Northern Ireland’s leading renewable energy developer, has been unveiled as the official sponsor of the Walled City Marathon - one of the sporting highlights of the Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 calendar.

The announcement follows a considerable rap on the knuckles from Ofgem - the UK energy regulator - on April 3.

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Ofgem fined SSE plc £10.5m for “failures at every stage of the sales process.”

The regulator said: “SSE management failures led to prolonged and extensive misselling.”

The fine was the largest ever imposed on an energy company.

The company accepted the punishment and said it was “deeply regretful that breaches occurred and apologised unreservedly to any customers who had been affected by sales activity which ran counter to the values and culture of the company.”

SSE’s Irish division is the third largest energy utility on the island.

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Its Slieve Kirk wind farm outside Londonderry was officially opened last year by Mayor Kevin Campbell,

The organisers of the Walled City Marathon confirmed that almost 2,000 runners have registered to battle it out to become the SSE Renewables Walled City Marathon champion for 2013.

Some of the participants who will face the gruelling 26.2 mile challenge will include Londonderry MLA Mark H Durkan along with local adventurer and conqueror of Mount Everest, Hannah Shields.

The pair joined Course Director Scott Galbraith and SSE Renewables General Manager Paul Cooley for the SSE sponsorship announcement.

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Unveiling SSE Renewables as official race sponsor Scott Galbraith, Course Director, said: “We are delighted that we are reviving the city’s marathon tradition and to be welcoming SSE Renewables as the new power behind this landmark race.

“This is the first time in nearly 30 years that a marathon has taken place in the city of Derry-Londonderry, and the support of such a highly-regarded energy company as SSE Renewables is especially important in these economically challenging times.”

Paul Cooley, SSE Renewables General Manager, said: “We’re delighted at SSE Renewables to be associated with this year’s City of Culture celebrations and to be the new power behind the 2013 Walled City Marathon.

“SSE Renewables enjoys strong local links with communities in Derry-Londonderry and the North West. Our Slieve Kirk wind farm near the city was officially opened last year by Mayor Kevin Campbell and powers around 22,000 homes for Airtricity with clean, green energy.

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“In addition to powering local customers we are also supporting local communities and later this year we will contribute over £70,000 in community funding to groups and projects around our Slieve Kirk Wind Farm.”

The SSE Renewables Walled City Marathon is the first to be held in the region since the National Championship Marathon back in 1997, and the first city marathon since the last Foyle Festival Marathon in 1985.

Full details can be found on www.thewalledcitymarathon.com including the race route and other events and activities on race day.

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