British Gas owner plans to cap profits to cut energy bills
British Gas owner Centrica plans to voluntarily cap booming profits in an effort to cut household bills and defuse outrage over them, the Guardian can reveal.
The chief executive, Chris O’Shea, said he is keen for Centrica to become the “first company” to sign up to new, renegotiated contracts with the government on its electricity generation, amid controversy over windfall gains.
As part of Liz Truss’s £150bn energy bills freeze, renewable and nuclear power generators will be asked to supply electricity below current market rates – but the new prime minister has refused to impose a windfall tax on them.
Ministers plan to “negotiate” with generators on older wind, solar and nuclear contracts, which have benefited from windfall gains as the price of gas has soared, to persuade them to switch to newer, less lucrative deals, which lock in lower prices in return for guaranteed long-term income.
As well as being the UK’s biggest supplier of gas and electricity to households via British Gas, Centrica is also a big generator via its 20% stake in Britain’s nuclear power stations.
O’Shea said Centrica is willing to switch the five nuclear plants to the new-style contracts. He said he was even prepared to draw up long-term contracts with the government for Centrica’s North Sea gas fields, which are not covered by the initiative and have already been subject to the windfall tax announced earlier this year by the then chancellor, Rishi Sunak. North Sea oil and gas extraction does not currently receive subsidies.
O’Shea said he had discussed the idea, backed by industry body Energy UK, with the government and talks are ongoing. “We are in this business for the long term. We’re not in this business to maximise our profit this year,” he
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