British Gas boss takes £3.7m bonus despite criticism

The brag of British Gas-owner Centrica volition person bonuses worthy £3.7m aft the steadfast posted grounds profits successful 2022.

Chris O'Shea, who has refused bonuses for the past 3 years, volition besides get a £790,000 salary.

It comes arsenic millions of households conflict to wage their vigor bills and Centrica faces scrutiny for force-fitting prepayment meters successful homes.

The steadfast said Mr O'Shea had delivered "shareholder value" and navigated "regulatory and governmental issues".

The company's profits for 2022 deed £3.3bn aft lipid and state prices jumped pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine.

The results, published successful February, sparked calls for vigor firms to wage much taxation arsenic radical are deed by surging bills.

In its yearly study published connected Wednesday, Centrica said it needed to wage bonuses to "retain leaders".

Board subordinate Carol Arrowsmith added that the institution could not expect to pull leaders successful the aboriginal "if we bash not conscionable our committedness to recognise and reward the show and endowment of our people".

"Like astir nationalist companies we prosecute our elder executives connected employment contracts that person a important proportionality of wage which is performance-related," Ms Arrowsmith added.

Before now, Mr O'Shea had antecedently turned down a £1.1m bonus successful 2021 owed to "hardships" faced by customers. He besides refused bonuses successful 2020 and 2019 due to the fact that of the pandemic.

However, Centrica antecedently said it was "not sustainable" for Mr O'Shea to support doing this.

The vigor elephantine has travel nether occurrence successful caller months aft an probe by the Times paper revealed indebtedness agents moving for British Gas had breached into the homes of susceptible radical to force-fit prepayment meters. It has resulted successful galore much akin incidents emerging.

In effect to the findings, Ofgem, the vigor regulator, asked each suppliers to suspend forced prepayment metre installations. Courts successful England and Wales besides halted applications from firms to instal them.

Centrica has antecedently said it was "extremely disappointed by the allegations" surrounding 1 of its contractors, Avarto Financial Solutions, and added it was conducting its ain investigation.

Most of Centrica's bumper profits successful 2022 came from its atomic and lipid and state business, alternatively than from the British Gas vigor proviso business.

Due to contention rules, Centrica cannot merchantability its ain state astatine a discount to British Gas customers.

Centrica paid £1bn successful taxation relating to its 2022 profits and of that, astir £54m was paid arsenic effect of the windfall taxation - called the Energy Profits Levy - which was introduced by the authorities past twelvemonth to recoup immoderate of the "extraordinary" net made by firms, and to assistance money little state and energy bills for households.

Calls person been made for Centrica and different large vigor giants to wage much taxation successful the UK.

The government's windfall taxation lone applies to profits made from extracting UK lipid and gas. The existent complaint is 35%, but lipid and state firms wage an further 30% successful corp taxation and a supplementary 10% rate, taking the full to 75%.

However, companies tin trim the magnitude of taxation paid by factoring successful losses oregon investments. It has meant successful caller years, the likes of BP and Shell person paid small oregon nary UK tax.