The boss of the owner of British Gas has seen his pay top £4.5m for 2022.

Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, has been awarded a £1.4m bonus for his performance last year, according to the company’s annual report.

It’s to be paid in addition to Mr O’Shea’s £790,000 salary and a £2.3m long-term share bonus.

The bonus has been granted despite British Gas being under investigation by the energy regulator Ofgem for its forced installation of prepayment meters in the homes of some vulnerable customers. An internal investigation is also under way.

Record profits of £3.3bn were recorded at Centrica as energy prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and higher gas production.

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Mr O’Shea declined a bonus for 2021 “given the hardships faced by our customers”, as he said he felt it would be “wrong” to accept it. Instead, he was paid his salary of £775,000.

His salary will increase again from £794,375 in 2022/23 to £815,000 on 1 April, the annual report released on Wednesday said.

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In assessing Mr O’Shea’s bonus payment, the company remuneration report said he “successfully navigated challenging regulatory and political issues, continuing to build capability and promote a performance and delivery culture whilst delivering shareholder value through new investment opportunities and portfolio shaping”.

The remuneration committee said it believed Mr O’Shea’s objectives for the year were “met in full with the
operational improvements in the services business, the launch of a new business division focused on net zero ventures and the reopening of the Rough storage facility”.

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There was no mention of the investigations into forced prepayment meter installation in the remuneration report.

An apology was made by Mr O’Shea about the installations. Speaking on the Ian King Live programme Mr O’Shea said he was “really truly sorry” and there was “no excuse” for forcing meters on vulnerable customers.

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