LONDON (AP) 鈥� Anti-poverty campaigners fumed Thursday after the parent of Britain鈥檚 biggest home energy supplier said earnings more than tripled last year as .
British Gas owner Centrica followed Shell and BP as the latest U.K.-based energy company to after oil and as the result of Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine. That sparked renewed calls from the opposition Labour Party for an expanded tax on those companies' windfall profits.
Centrica said adjusted operating profit jumped to 3.3 billion pounds ($4 billion) in 2022 from 948 million pounds the previous year. That was good news for shareholders, with the company announcing plans to boost an existing share buyback program by 300 million pounds and pay dividends totaling 59 million pounds, compared with nothing in 2021.
The earnings came just two weeks after an investigation by the Times of London found that a debt collection company working for British Gas had who were unable to pay their bills this winter and installed meters that require customers to pay for energy in advance.
Centrica officials apologized, said they were unaware of the contractor鈥檚 behavior and suspended the practice.
鈥淭he profits of this firm are built on the backs of older people, young families and the disabled this winter,鈥欌�� said Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.
Centrica is both a wholesale energy producer and a retail supplier.
The company said most of its earnings came from energy trading and marketing, as well as its nuclear power operations. By contrast, operating profit at the retail British Gas Energy unit fell 39%, to 72 million pounds.
British Gas is the U.K.鈥檚 biggest residential energy supplier, with more than 7.5 million customers across the country.
Centrica said it was 鈥渁cting responsibly through the energy crisis,鈥� providing 50 million pounds of support for customers and pledging to donate 10% of British Gas profits to .
鈥淭herefore, we were extremely disappointed by the allegations surrounding one of our third-party contractors and their approach to pre-payment customers,鈥� Centrica said. 鈥淲e immediately took action to address this and are completing a thorough independent investigation.鈥�
Britain has been because limited storage capacity left energy suppliers at the mercy of international markets as prices soared.
That contributed to double-digit inflation that has fueled a wave of , soaring and the biggest drop in living standards since records began in the 1950s.
The with subsidies designed to limit average household energy costs to no more than 2,500 pounds a year, a figure that will rise to 3,000 pounds on April 1. Even with that protection, the average household bill has almost doubled in the past year.
Centrica acknowledged that more needs to be done to protect customers.
鈥淲e believe a fundamental review of energy regulation is required to ensure the system is ready for the energy transition, works for consumers and allows well-run suppliers to make an appropriate return to compensate for the risks taken,鈥� the company said.
Britain鈥檚 Conservative-led government last year imposed an additional 25% tax on the profits that oil and gas producers make from their U.K. operations. The .
On top of that, the government approved a 45% tax on the 鈥渆xceptional鈥� profits of wholesale electricity producers that took effect this year.
The Labour Party called on the government to immediately expand the windfall tax on oil and gas producers to . The party has criticized the government for allowing energy companies to reduce their tax payments with investments in the U.K.
鈥淚n a matter of weeks, another spike in energy prices will hit families,鈥� Rachel Reeves, Labour鈥檚 spokesperson on Treasury issues, tweeted after Centrica鈥檚 earnings. 鈥淭he government must bring in a proper windfall tax on oil & gas giants to stop energy prices rising in April.鈥�
Danica Kirka, The Associated Press
