British Gas to donate more to energy support fund ahead of winter

By Nina Chestney

LONDON (Reuters) – Centrica-owned British Gas said it would increase support for customers ahead of a rise in a price cap on default tariffs by contributing 12 million pounds ($14 million) of its 98 million first-half pre-tax profit to an energy support fund.

Britain’s energy market regulator Ofgem is expected to announce another hike in a price cap on the most common energy tariffs on Friday as wholesale prices have soared, putting more pressure on households dealing with a cost of living crisis.

This month, British energy giants Centrica, BP and Shell published bumper profits, largely due to high wholesale gas prices, prompting renewed calls from opposition parties and charities for the government to impose tougher windfall taxes on energy firms.

Centrica’s half-year adjusted operating profit jumped to 1.34 billion pounds from 262 million a year earlier – a rise of 1.078 billion pounds.

British Gas said it was making the contribution to help the most financially vulnerable customers pay their bills.

It set up the energy support fund late last year, with an initial 2-million-pound investment in response to the cost-of-living crisis, and a further 4-million-pound was donated in the first half of 2022.

British Gas customers in fuel poverty and with less than 1,000 pounds in savings are eligible to apply for a grant, which is usually between 250 and 750 pounds.

($1 = 0.8450 pounds)

(Reporting by Nina Chestney; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)