Big six CEOs: Failing customers, failing the climate

Millions of us are feeling the economic squeeze just now - not least because of the astronomical rise in our energy bills. The average household energy bill rose from£605 in 2004 to £1060 by 2010 and since then it’s risen even further. Secratary of Sate Ed Davey needs to stand up to the energy bosses and put people and the climate before profits.

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By far the biggest single cause of this staggering burden on families and businesses across the country is the hikes in the cost of gas. Gas cost about 40% more this winter than last winter, and as the energy regulator OFGEM put it, "This has contributed significantly to the recent increase in customers’ bills."

This is an especially big problem because we've become ever more reliant upon burning gas both to heat our homes and to keep the lights on because the biggest energy companies are fixing it to be this way. And now they are lobbying for us to be even more reliant on gas than we are already.

It’s convenient for the bosses of the big six utilities because gas-fired power stations are relatively cheap for them to build and then they simply pass on the costs of the expensive fuel to those of us left to pay the bills and live with rising global temperatures.

So it's frankly insulting that the bosses of the giant energy companies who took decisions that have left us consumers vulnerable to expensive - and highly polluting - gas fossil fuels, are now rewarding themselves for failure.

This week the boss of Britain's biggest energy company is expected to get a fat cat bonus. Last year this totalled over £1million taking his yearly earnings to over £2 million. He also took £600,000 in shares. In ten years the top director of this company, Centrica, has seen their pay rise by a staggering 140%. He is not alone. All of the big six energy companies will reward their bosses for damaging the environment and leaving millions in fuel poverty.

As Dot Gibson of the National Pensioners Convention put it in The Mirror, "There is no justification for their whopping pay packets when their price rises mean that many older people can't afford to heat their homes. They should hand back their bonuses."

Too right they should - except they're not known for taking responsibility. The new Energy Minister needs to intervene. Just for starters, these massive bonuses could pay to bring down bills for several thousand of the poorest people in society by insulating their homes.

Secretary of State Ed Davey needs to stand up to the energy bosses and force the energy giants to use their profits to take responsibility for the mess they've left us in. Not pay themselves massive bonuses when more people are living in fuel poverty than ever before. Email Ed Davey now.

For more on this story check out this article in The Mirror.

Infographic sources.