Fury as British Gas debt collectors force their way into vulnerable people's homes to install prepayment metersBig swings in energy prices helped the company's energy marketing and trading division, which made £1.4 billion in profit during the year, an enormous 1,900% increase from the year before.
Chris O’Shea, the Centrica chief executive, said the company would use its bumper profits to increase its customer support package for people struggling with energy bills to more than £100m and invest “several billion pounds” in the transition to green energy. Campaigners and trade unionists pointed to the contrast between people finding it difficult to pay their bills, and the company's large profits.Simon Francis, a coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said the company's huge profits were “a further sign of Britain’s broken energy system."