British Gas boss Chris O’Shea has his pay hiked to £8.2m as household energy bills soar

The boss of British gas owner Centrica saw his wages almost double last year after high energy bills boosted the company’s share price.

Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea took home £8.2 million in 2023.

That compared to £4.5 million the year before – a figure he said was impossible to justify.

O’Shea, who has led the company since 2020, earned a salary of £810,000, around £1.4 million in annual bonuses and £5.9 million in longer-term bonuses.

The latter figure soared in 2023 as it relates to the FTSE 100 company’s share price performance over the past three years.

The company’s shares were boosted by high household energy bills during the cost of living crisis.

Carol Arrowsmith, chair of the remuneration committee, said: ‘We need to ensure Centrica is set up for long-term success and that means attracting and retaining high-performing managers.’

Centrica said total shareholder returns have increased by 247 percent since 2021, highlighting the support it has provided to customers during cost-of-living pressures.

O’Shea did not accept a bonus in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The pay rise, revealed in Centrica’s annual report, comes two months after O’Shea told the BBC that “you can’t justify a salary of that size” when asked about his 2022 wages of £4.5m.

Luke Hildyard, of think tank the High Pay Centre, said: ‘As Mr O’Shea himself admitted a few weeks ago, it is not really credible to claim that the work he does is even commensurate with pay that is even close to is half as big. .’