ScottishPower parent suffering

SCOTTISHPOWER'S performance has helped boost Spanish parent company Iberdrola, which yesterday warned of a sharp fall in demand closer to home.

Glasgow-based ScottishPower contributed 529.3 million (474.6m) to Iberdrola's operating profit, 27 per cent of the group total. The UK performance partly offset a fall in Spain, where demand fell by 7.5 per cent and wholesale prices tumbled 34 per cent, Iberdrola said in a statement.