British Gas to donate 10% of profits during energy crisis

British Gas has announced it will donate 10% of its retail profits for the duration of the energy crisis to provide grants to vulnerable customers, with the pledge being backdated to the beginning of 2022.

The money will be transferred to the British Gas Energy Support Fund, which is expected to hand out grants worth £750 on average. The fund was set up towards the end of 2021 to help customers in fuel poverty and with less than £1,000 in savings.

After making a pre-tax profit of £98 million in the first half of this year, British Gas said it will initially go beyond its commitment to donate 10% of profits and contribute £12 million to the fund, which is administered by the company’s charity, the British Gas Energy Trust.

Although it does not yet have a precise figure for how may customers will receive support, the company said it expects grants to go to “thousands of customers most in need”.

Chris O’Shea, chief executive of British Gas’ parent company Centrica, said: “The current cost of living crisis requires all of us to think differently. As a responsible business we want to do more to support our customers during this difficult time.”

O’Shea added that the total package of support being provided by the company is worth more than £25 million. This consists of the £18 million for the support fund, a £6 million annual donation to its energy trust and an additional £2 million investment to fund a further 20 money advice centres via the trust.

Jessica Taplin, chief executive of British Gas Energy Trust, said: “As a charitable trust we’re helping thousands of people every month who are struggling with bills including energy costs – we know that many people in debt feel they have nowhere else to turn. But help is often available – whether it’s through grants or through charities who provide money and energy advice.

“Advisors listen and support with household budgets and energy efficiency, they can help people access support such as unclaimed benefits as well as managing debt – this huge amount of new funding will help us to support tens of thousands more households at risk and in fuel poverty.”

The move came shortly before Ofgem’s scheduled announcement on Friday (26 August) of the next level of the price cap from the beginning of October.

Supporting vulnerable customers will be one of the key themes at Utility Week Forum this November. For more information, click here.