Centrica Boss Sam Laidlaw Pledges to Forgo £2.6m Bonus Amid Energy Price Hike Row

Centrica's chief executive, Sam Laidlaw, has pledged to forgo his annual £2.6m bonus following political and public anger surrounding the continual increase in energy prices.

Laidlaw said, in a debate on "Business Trust" at the CBI conference, that he has "already decided to withdraw his consideration for a bonus by the remuneration committee", amid the row over how Britain's energy companies continually raise prices while ordinary Britons struggle to make ends meet.

"Just to continue in this world where households are under pressure, and assume it is business as normal, is not the way thoughtful remuneration committees think about it," said Laidlaw at the conference.

"We are listening - we get it, absolutely. We know there is a problem."

Laidlaw's total pay package for 2012 stood at £4.96m (€5.86m, $7.92m). This amount includes a £2.6m "long term incentives" bonus scheme.

Britain's largest energy firms were recently scrutinised by a parliamentary committee of MPs as to why prices in Britain keep on rising and what could be done to solve the problem.

The Big Six account for 99% of the UK's energy sector.

Recently, Centrica said it will raise its household charges for electricity and gas by an average of 9.2% from November.

Meanwhile, its subsidiary British Gas said its electricity and gas prices will rise by 10.4% and 8.4% respectively, from 23 November.

SSE also announced it will raise its charges for electricity and gas by an average of 8.2%.

However, Ofgem data has revealed that wholesale energy prices have only risen by 1.7% despite the big six energy companies in Britain blaming this for hiking up household bills by 11.1%.

At the CBI conference, Laidlaw said his company had reduced its costs by £300m over the past few years.

He also added that Centrica would immediately pass on any reductions in the social and environmental part of energy bills.