 British Gas has recorded record half-year profits of almost £1 billion pounds in a 'further sign of the broken energy system'. Owner of the energy giant Centrica announced it has almost doubled its profits to £2.1 billion in the first six months of this year. Underlying earnings at its gas and electricity supply arm leaped 889% to £969 million in the six months to June 30 from £98 million a year earlier. Cenrica said the result was buoyed as Ofgem's price cap in the first half of the year – when customers saw their bills limited to £2,500 a year under the Energy Price Guarantee – allowed it to recoup losses seen a year earlier – to the tune of about £500 million. Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: 'The profits are a further sign of Britain's broken energy system. 'At a time when household energy debt is spiralling to record levels and energy bills remain double what they were just a few years ago, the profits posted will be greeted with disbelief by those struggling through the crisis. 'There will of course be questions about how these profits were made, but the reality is that energy firms are operating on a playing field set by the government. 'People will rightly ask what this government is doing to curb these profits and fix our broken energy system.' Last year Centrica more than tripled its adjusted operating profit, which reached £3.3 billion in 2022 amid turbulence in global energy markets. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
British Gas unveiled record profits of almost £1 billion in the first six months of 2023.
Owner of the energy giant Centrica nearly doubled its gain to £2.1 billion in what some have condemned as a ‘further sign of the broken energy system’ in the UK.
Underlying earnings at its gas and electricity supply arm went up by 889% to £969 million in the six months to June 30 from £98 million a year earlier.
About half of the profit was due to Ofgem’s price cap in the first half of the year.