ENERGY giant Centrica has made a profit of more than £300 per household since the energy crisis began, figures revealed today, exposing the “stark inequality at the heart of the energy system.”

Centrica’s latest figures show it made £269 million from households via British Gas and £307m from market trading.

Its operating profits amounted to more than £1.5 billion in 2024.

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition’s profit tracker calculates that since 2020, Centrica has posted nearly £9bn in operating profits — equivalent to £310 per household.

The company’s earnings before interest and amortisation (depreciation) expenses figure for 2024 was £2.3bn, beating its forecasts.

Chief executive Chris O’Shea said it was a good year for Centrica, but stressed there was “so much more we can do.”

He said the group was discussing pumping cash into Sizewell C, the new nuclear plant in Suffolk, aiming to secure a deal in the first half of the year.

 “I like nuclear. I’m really hopeful we can make progress with Sizewell C this year,” he said.

“[But it] all depends on the overall cost of the project and returns.”

Centrica also announced increased returns for shareholders, with a 13 per cent dividend rise and an extra £500 million in share buybacks, bringing the total buyback programme to £2bn by the end of 2025.

End Fuel Poverty Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis said: “Centrica continues to post massive profits while households continue to struggle in cold, damp homes.

“Once again, the firm has announced a share buy-back programme which shows how much spare cash the company is generating.

“A more socially responsible use of this money would be to help the households struggling to stay warm this winter by improving the energy efficiency of their homes or reducing their daily standing charges.”

Warm This Winter spokeswoman Caroline Simpson said: “We need to get away from energy bills driven by the gas industry which has netted profiteering companies like British Gas more than £483bn since 2020.

“Our bills are high because of greedy gas and oil companies who are making billions, which is why reducing energy use through better insulation and developing our own energy sources is the only way to achieve lower prices and energy security for good.”