Centrica picks fight on bills but freezes the divi

Centrica boss Iain Conn on Thursday came out fighting against criticism of Britain’s biggest energy supplier claiming “the playing field is tilted against us” as profits rose 4% to £1.5 billion.

Shares fell 3% as Centrica unexpectedly froze the dividend at 12p — dashing investors’ hopes — and British Gas profit slipped 8% to £810 million.

The supplier lost 400,000 customers bringing it to its lowest level as smaller rivals ratchet up the competition.

Conn hit out against condemnation of British Gas, saying: “A lot of people think we’re expensive. We’re not. Our standard tariff is £1044, cheaper than 95% of standard tariffs on the market, and standard tariffs are not necessarily the evil empire, they offer decent value.”

He also said that the fact that small rivals don’t have to pay green levies meant “the playing field is tilted against us at the moment”.

But critics pointed out that British Gas standard customers could save £210 a year by switching, and Mark Todd of comparison site energyhelpline added: “Having the cheapest standard tariff in the Big Six is like winning a race at the Snail Olympics.”

Conn, however, hit back: “At some point all this banging on about ‘switch, switch, don’t you know it’s a good thing to do’ has to end — there’s loads of choice out there, at some point someone has to look at this and say, that looks like a market, it seems to be working.”

Higher profits at Centrica and better customer service levels means Conn, who joined Centrica from BP in 2015 and earned £3 million for his first year in the post, looks set for a larger bonus.

Last year, more than a third of Centrica’s investors refused to back its pay plans over a controversial share award handed to the chief executive, but today he said: “When I joined the company I was asked to take a reduction in the top end of what I could earn, and in my base pay. Now 80% of my pay is tied to performance, the evaluation of that performance is a matter for the board.”