SSE has already guided to 1H adjusted EPS of 7.5p-10p… SSE reports 1H22 next Wednesday (presentation at 8.30am). As indicated in the recent pre-close statement, weather conditions have been extremely unfavourable to renewables in the 1H, with output down 32% in the period to 22nd Sep, an 11% impact on the FY forecast output. High wholesale prices will have most likely offered profitable opportunities for SSE’s thermal fleet in the short-term markets, although in 1H this will have been impacted by outages. The environment for gas storage is likely to have been favourable. SSE has guided to 1H adjusted EPS of 7.5p-10p, our estimate being 9.5p. …Dogger Bank C sell-down and thermal optimisation opportunities should help offset 1H renewable pain at FY Since the trading statement SSE has announced the sale of 10% of Dogger Bank C, which we suggest will generate a capital gain (recorded with adjusted earnings) of c.£65m in 2H. This, together with optimisation opportunities from the thermal fleet, should over the FY help to offset the c.£120m impact on renewables in 1H. Our pre-existing FY22E estimates are under review, but we suggest many moving parts of opposite directions, rather than uni-directional at a consolidated level. Wednesday is not about 1H numbers, it’s about accelerating investment and value creation on the road to net zero However, the SSE investment case is not predicated on whether the wind is blowing in FY22. This is about a company that is well positioned to benefit from the pathway to net zero in 2050, where electrification towers above all other drivers. This manifests itself in a need for a significant expansion of renewables (SSE has on/offshore wind pipeline & Scot Wind/CfD AR4 are catalysts), an expansion of long duration storage (SSE has the Coire Glas project), transmission investment to connect new capacity (SSE has island links, and proposed changes to the offshore regime offer opportunity), and investment in distribution from the electrification of heat and transport (ED2 business plans are submitted in December). SSE may hold a different opinion, suggesting that thermal generation offers a further investment opportunity, but we contend that a further streamlining of the portfolio to a complete focus on networks/renewables might be a better use of capital.