Britain’s biggest oil and gas companies have scored bumper profits in the middle of the cost of living crisis which will leave families facing £3,850 average bills in January.
The energy giants faced a storm of political anger as they reported staggering profit figures.
British Gas owner Centrica announced a five-fold increase in profits to £1.3billion in first half of year while oil giants Shell had profits hitting a record of £9.4 billion.
Yet households are facing devastating increases in energy bills of £3,500 from October when the consumer price cap increases with experts warning the figure will hit £3,850 in January.
READ MORE: Scots face £500 energy bills for month of January
Ed Miliband MP, Labour’s Shadow Climate Change and Net Zero Secretary, said the Tory leadership was living on another planet in the midst of an energy emergency.
He said: “As profits soar to record levels for oil and gas producers, we face a serious and worsening energy bills crisis, far worse even than a couple of months ago. “
“Yet Rishi Sunak opposed the windfall tax tooth and nail and has introduced a multi-billion tax break for the oil and gas sector, while Liz Truss appears to believe that the cost of living crisis can be solved by abandoning renewable energy, the cheapest form of power we have.”
Miliband added:“The Government is asleep at the wheel. They should start by getting rid of the plan to hand £4 billion of public money back to the oil and gas giants making record profits in this crisis and using this money to help families.”
The SNP’s Shadow Energy spokesman, Alan Brown MP said: “The Tory-made cost of living crisis is now completely out of control, with forecasts showing annual bills could come in at just under £4,000 in a mere matter of months.
“This spells a very grim winter for tens of millions of households across the UK, and with no help in sight there’s no telling how high bills will go and how much misery people will be forced to endure.”
Shell made record profits of nearly £10 billion between April and June and promised to give shareholders payouts worth £6.5 billion as the oil company benefited from the surge in energy prices prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
British Gas owner Centrica, reinstated its dividend as it reported bumper operating profits of £1.3 billion during the first half of 2022 thanks to higher prices for the oil and gas it drills.
Chris O’Shea, Centrica’s chief executive, said it was “the most challenging energy crisis in living memory” even as his company reported its highest adjusted operating profits since 2013.
The windfall tax – known as the energy profits levy – did not come into force until 14 July, meaning the companies’ second-quarter profits and payouts to shareholders were not affected.
The sector has remained a bonanza for oil companies and shareholders. Shell investors received $7.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022 and will receive another $6 billion in a share buyback and $1.8 billion in dividends announced on Tuesday.
Shell said it had experienced “higher realised prices, higher refining margins and higher gas and power trading”.
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