Centrica profits triple to $4 billion, powered by soaring energy prices
Centrica #Centrica
LONDON, Feb. 16 (UPI) — Britain’s Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, reported a record profit of $4 billion on Thursday, sparking widespread anger because the bulk of it came from unearned windfall gains from soaring energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine.
The group’s profit for 2022 was more than triple the $1.14 billion it made in 2021 and comes amid a growing row in Britain over the massive windfall profits the Ukraine war has handed to the energy giants, including Shell and BP, while consumers struggle with rocketing gas and electricity bills.
Centrica stressed that most of its profits came from North Sea oil and gas production, stakes in Britain’s nuclear power plants and its energy trading business with British Gas, which supplies domestic and commercial customers, contributing just $87 million.
However, Centrica’s results show its energy trading arm alone generated $1.7 billion profit, a 2,000% gain on the previous year’s $84 million. The energy trading arm makes money by buying gas and other fuels and re-selling it at a profit to other energy companies including British Gas.
“Centrica’s full-year profits are more than triple the year before. In a matter of weeks, another spike in energy prices will hit families,” said Labor’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves wrote on Twitter. “The government must bring in a proper windfall tax on oil & gas giants to stop energy prices rising in April.”
Earlier this month British Gas was forced to apologize after it was revealed firms it had hired to collect bad debts had been breaking into the homes of vulnerable people to forcibly install pre-payment meters that cut off power and gas unless kept topped up.
“British Gas owner Centrica has been coining it in from our massive energy bills while sending bailiffs to prey on vulnerable consumers the length and breadth of the country,” said Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union. “These energy companies are showing us everything that is wrong with the UK’s broken economy.
Graham called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to impose a “meaningful, tough” windfall tax on energy companies and use the funds to raise the pay of health workers who have been striking throughout the nation in recent months.
The disability equality charity Scope told UPI that it was “obscene” that energy companies continued to make such massive profits.
“Life costs a lot more when you’re disabled. We’re being inundated with heart-breaking calls from disabled people who haven’t eaten for days, who can’t afford energy to charge wheelchairs and stairlifts, but are still racking up huge energy debts,” said policy manager Tom Marsland.
“As we’ve seen, many have been forced onto prepayment meters as a result, putting lives and health in danger.”
In the past few weeks British energy giants Shell and BP both reported record profits for 2022 of $39.9 billion and $27.7 billion
Read More