British Gas makes £1bn profit after Ofgem lets it charge higher bills

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Energy supplier receives £500m boost while millions struggle with bills.

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Published by

28 Jul 2023

Profits at British Gas have surged tenfold after Ofgem allowed the gas and electricity supplier to make more money from household bills.

The company, which supplies 10 million British homes and businesses, reported record half-year profits of £970m for the first six months of 2023.

Earnings were ten times the £98m made in the same period last year and far above its previous record of £585m.

The increase was driven by a £500m boost from higher energy bills after the industry regulator made changes to the price cap.

Ofgem raised how much suppliers could claim from household bills to make up for costs incurred during the pandemic. The change allowed British Gas to recover more of the costs it incurred for taking on customers from failed rivals.

EDF and Scottish Power also revealed surging profits on Thursday thanks to Ofgem’s price cap revisions.

EDF’s UK earnings leapt 167pc to €2.2bn in the first half of the year, up almost 80pc on the same period of 2022. EDF credited