ENERGY GIANT SEES PROFITS SKYROCKET
(Published 24 February 2011)
The energy giant Centrica has seen profits rise to £742million on the back of the coldest British winter in 100 years, an increase of almost 25%.
During the arctic mid-winter conditions, the company, which owns British Gas, raised prices by seven per cent for eight million customers taking the average annual dual fuel bill from £1,157 to £1,239.
Mike O'Connor, the chief executive of the customer watchdog Customer Focus said: "We need successful energy companies, but consumers may look at today's profits and at recent prices and question how one justifies the other."
However Centrica's chief executive, Sam Laidlaw, described today's results as "profits with a purpose", promising to invest £1.7 billion during this year.
"We're in a volatile situation with commodity prices and we will do all we can to keep bills as low as we can," he said. "Half the costs come from commodity prices, but there's also the rising cost of transportation and the cost of meeting climate change obligations."
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