It's impossible to justify my £4.5m pay, says boss of British Gas owner Centrica
The Guardian|January 20, 2024
The boss of British Gas owner Centrica has said it is “impossible to justify” his £4.5m pay packet.
Rupert Neate
It's impossible to justify my £4.5m pay, says boss of British Gas owner Centrica

Chris O’Shea said there was “no point” trying to justify his huge salary when millions of his customers were struggling to pay their heating bills due to soaring energy costs.

O’Shea, who has been chief executive of Centrica since 2020, received bonuses totalling £3.7m in 2022 on top of his £790,000 salary. The bonuses were paid out as Centrica made record profits of £3.3bn after oil and gas prices jumped following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“You can’t justify a salary of that size,” O’Shea, who has been chief executive of Centrica since 2020, told BBC Breakfast yesterday.

“It’s a huge amount of money. I am incredibly fortunate. I don’t set my own pay. That’s set by our remuneration committee.”

The comments come as millions of British Gas customers struggle to cover their monthly gas and electricity payments.

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