Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA) boss Chris O’Shea was paid £4.5mln last year, as the British Gas owner reaped the benefits of higher wholesale gas prices pushing up energy bills across the board.
O’Shea, who publicly apologised just last month over British Gas’s forced installation of pre-payment meters in vulnerable homes, saw his pay packet go up over 400% from £875,000 in 2021.
His salary sat at £790,000, though it was topped up by millions more in bonuses and payments from the company’s long-term incentivisation scheme.
“Chris O’Shea has continued to show outstanding leadership, drive and determination to turn around the company for our 10mln customers, 20,000 colleagues and our many shareholders,” Centrica said in its annual report.
The FTSE 100-listed energy supplier has been at the centre of controversy in recent weeks after The Times exposed its sub-contractors of forcibly entering homes to fit pre-payment meters.
As a result, forced pre-payment meter installations, used by suppliers to reduce exposure to customer debt, were banned by regulator Ofgem, which is also investigating Centrica.
Centrica rake in record profits last year, after the Ukraine war caused gas prices to soar, prompting other forms of energy to rise too.
O'Shea was also awarded 1.5mln shares in 2022 worth £1.2mln, though these are subject to a three-year vesting period and rely on Centrica not being fined by a regulatory body.
Kate Ringrose, Centrica's chief financial officer, was awarded 700,000 shares, equalling around £500,000, with her pay packet just over £1mln.