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A new round of investigations are to be held into improper practices by utility companies. Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern Energy are facing action over alleged anti-competitive practices.

Energy regulator Ofgem has launched the inquiry in response to a complaint alleging abuse of a dominant market position in the electricity generation sector and constrained capacity on the transmission network. Further details of the matter have not been released.

In a statement, Scottish & Southern said: 'No specific allegations have yet been put to SSE, but we are confident that our actions in the electricity generation market have always been justifiable in economic terms and consistent with the operation of a competitive market.'

Scottish & Southern Energy is one of the largest energy companies in the UK. It is involved in the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity, as well as energy trading, the storage, distribution and supply of gas, electrical and utility contracting and telecoms. It trades as Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro Electric and Swalec.

The utilities sector is currently subject to several investigations including a probe into the energy supply markets, launched by Ofgem in February.

Water company Severn Trent was today fined around £35 million for under-reporting leaks which resulted in customers being given higher bills.

Severn Trent has pleaded guilty to misreporting leakage data on two occasions between 2000 and 2002. The fine is based on 3% of Severn Trent's turnover. It has been charged £34.7 million for deliberately misreporting and £1.1 million for providing sub-standard services.

Chief executive Tony Wray said: 'When my new management team and I uncovered misreporting and poor service in our customer relations department we promptly alerted Ofwat and took steps to implement proper controls and an ethical working culture with the highest standards to ensure there can be no repetition of this unacceptable behaviour.

'There is no doubt that the previous regime and culture in place during the era from 2000 to 2004 was overly bureaucratic and lacked sufficient controls and procedures. Those who were responsible for the customer relations mistakes are no longer with Severn Trent and we apologise to our customers for their failings.'

A third charge relating to leakage data supplied to water regulator Ofwat in 2000 will not be pursued by the Serious Fraud Office, Severn Trent said.