The British Gas Owner suffers a rebellion of shareholders on the CEO payment package

Chris O’Shea, the head of the British Central Gas Owner, saw that his salary increased by 29% last year to 1.1 million pounds to bring his total payment pack to 4.3 million pounds for the year.Photo: Andrew Milligan/Pa

The owner of British gas has suffered a rebellion of shareholders after delivering to his CEO a package of payments of several millions of pounds, while energy bill payers fight with record levels of debt.

Almost 40% of centric shareholders voted on Thursday against the Board’s payments plans at the Annual Energy Company Investors meeting in Manchester, after increasing the CAP Chris O’Shea’s CAP’s salary criticism during the energy crisis.

O’Shea’s basic salary increased by 29% last year to 1.1 million pounds to obtain their total package package, including bonuses and remuneration related to shares, at 4.3 million pounds per year.

Payment day was about half of what was paid the year earlier, when its payment package increased to about 8 million pounds, largely thanks to a bonus scheme of 5.9 million pounds.

Salary rise have angry consumer groups, fuel poverty campaigns and climate activists who have accused the company of benefiting from the highest energy prices after the invasion of Russia in Ukraine, while millions of households have struggled to pay their heating bills due to energy costs.

In total, household debt and delays of households have increased to about 3.8 million pounds, an increase of around £ 2 million since the beginning of 2022.

Central market value has grown more than 250% in the last five years due to rising energy market prices after Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. However, FTSE 100 company shares fell 7.5% on Thursday after warning that the good start to sprout their profits for the first quarter.

Prior to the voting of shareholders, proxy adviser, Institutional shareholders (ISS), it was recommended against the support of the O’SHEA payment package at the annual meeting.

ISS told its customers that the increase in remuneration was “materially above those that were given to the wider labor force” and that “it is not considered to be based on co -co -running reason.”

Mel Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate chief, called on the government to rise and bonuses for energy companies, so they are not “rewarded to deepen the cost of the crisis of life”.

“You know that the benefit has gone too far when even the shareholders are beginning to reject the ascents of the remuneration of the parade -xocs presented by the greedy heads,” said Evans. “We are all sick until the death of the gas industry, which have gained benefits at the expense at the expense of ordinary bills in recent years.”

O’Shea said last year that Was “impossible to justify” His remuneration when British gas customers were fighting. “You can’t justify this size salary,” he told the BBC. “It’s a lot of money; I’m incredibly fortunate. I don’t pay off my own payment; this is fixed by our remuneration committee.”