shares rose after the UK government confirmed plans to move older wind and solar farms onto fixed-price contracts.
Shares in the company, which owns windfarms and hydroelectric power plants, rose 3.8% to 2,614p early on Tuesday, while fellow FTSE 100-listed energy producers and FTSE 250-listed were up 1.7% and 1.8%.
The government proposals would see wind and solar farms that currently earn market-linked revenues offered contracts that guarantee a set price for electricity, reducing exposure to volatile gas markets.
The move is aimed at “delinking” electricity prices from gas, which currently sets the wholesale price in the UK despite renewables generating a growing share of power.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband is expected to outline the plans in a speech, the Guardian reported, where he will argue that expanding clean energy is the “only route to energy security”.
For companies such as SSE, which has a large renewable generation portfolio, the shift could provide greater revenue certainty, though it may also limit upside during periods of high power prices.
The plans would apply to so-called legacy generators and are expected to be voluntary, with the alternative being higher windfall taxes.
Analysts have previously estimated that such reforms could save UK consumers billions each year by reducing exposure to gas-driven price spikes.