The boss of British Gas says he fears customers will be forced to rack up debt as winter bites. Chris O’Shea says the swelling of all household costs meant people were going into the cold season in an even worse financial state than last year.

Mr O’Shea, chief of parent group Centrica, told the Mirror: “Energy costs have come down, which is good, but they are twice what they were four years ago. People consume two-thirds of their energy over the winter.

“Your payments can more than double, even if prices stay flat if you pay when you get your bill. I am deeply worried about that. Those struggling with the cost of living are struggling with interest payments, council tax payments, with food. It’s awful.”

While watchdog Ofgem has lowered its energy price cap during the year, the Tories have scrapped last winter’s £67-a-month bill help for households. And Ofgem is next week expected to announce the unit cap for 29million households will rise by five per cent in January, making an average annual bill £1,930.

Mr O’Shea, who in March accepted £1.4million in bonuses, said: “We’re seeing an increase in the number of people phoning, and how long they are on the phone because they need help.

“And there’s been an increase in the number of people falling behind with their payments, whether that’s missing payments or cancelling direct debits. I have been here for five years and the level of bad debt and direct debit cancellations is the worst I have seen.”

Mr O’Shea’s comments follow the announcement in July that British Gas profits rose almost 900 per cent to a record £969m in the first half of 2023.

The country’s biggest supplier, with 7.5million customers, insisted the surge was due to a tweak to Ofgem’s price cap that allowed it and others to recoup some of the costs incurred during the energy crisis.

But despite a likely loss in the second half of 2023, analysts still expect annual profits to surge from £72m to almost £800m. Mr O’Shea hit back, saying of Ofgem’s price cap: “For every £1 that we get, we’re allowed to make 2p profit.”

His £1.4m of bonuses was part of a package worth £4.5m last year. His salary alone is £790,000. He waived his annual bonus the previous year but said he had given “no thought at all” to whether he would for 2023.

British Gas was rocked by a prepayment meter scandal earlier this year. A Times story included allegations debt collectors broke into vulnerable customers’ homes to fit the meters.

The firm paused the practice and Ofgem investigated.

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