Profits “are being put before people,” campaigners warned today after French energy giant EDF announced soaring British profits of £1.12 billion despite millions struggling to pay their bills.
The company, which supplies gas and electricity to six million customers this side of the Channel, is the latest in a series of energy firms to benefit from global energy price spikes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February.
French ministers fully nationalised EDF in October as part of plans to cap bill increases at just 4 per cent.
But in Britain, costs have nearly doubled as the Tory government’s energy price guarantee has only kept average annual energy costs at £2,500, as opposed to the £1,277 rate in place before the conflict.
Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe tweeted: “The French government totally nationalised EDF.
“Bills have only increased by 4 per cent. No shareholder dividends. That’s what people before profits looks like.
“In Britain it’s a total rip-off.”
And life peer Prem Sikka said the dividend would only be “great news for the French as EDF is owned by the French government – it will reduce their bills.”
The firm, which generates about a fifth of Britain’s energy from coal, renewables and eight nuclear plants, said that the big jump in operating profit was down to a “strong operational performance” across its nuclear fleet and increased prices.
Britain usually imports a significant chunk of its electricity from France, but last summer’s continental heatwave caused droughts leading to a lack of water to act as coolant for French reactors, which had to cease production.
EDF plants in Britain were then called upon to export energy, seeing profits soar.
But the company’s British arm said it actually made an operating loss of almost £1bn once depreciation and one-off impairments were taken into account.
Chairman Luc Remont said: “Despite all the challenges, EDF actively focused on service and support for all its residential and business customers and made every endeavour to ensure the best generation fleet availability for the winter period.”
The announcement comes a day after British Gas owner Centrica saw profits — largely generated from its nuclear plants co-owned with EDF — triple to a whopping £3.3bn over the past year.
Source : Morning Star Online