An angry backlash has been seen in response to British Gas's announcement of record half-year earnings, which came at a time when millions of people are still having trouble meeting their energy expenses.
After price cap increases enabled British Gas to extract more money off of residential customer bills, the company claimed profits of £969 million.
The regulatory agency Ofgem stated that the record-breaking gains were a "one-off" because of the adjustments.
Campaigners for the alleviation of poverty, meanwhile, have stated that the earnings "are a further sign of Britain's broken energy system."
The adjustments that the energy regulator made to the price cap were responsible for approximately half of the profit.
In order to compensate for losses experienced as a result of the epidemic, Ofgem increased the limit that service providers can deduct from customers' monthly bills.
"At a time when household energy debt is spiraling to record levels and energy bills remain double what they were just a few years ago, the profits posted will be greeted with disbelief by those struggling through the crisis," said Simon Francis, the coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition. "At a time when household energy debt is spiraling to record levels and energy bills remain double what they were just a few years ago."
"There will of course be questions about how these profits were made, but the reality is that energy firms are operating on a playing field that has been set by the government."
The website that compares prices, Uswitch, attributed the "strong" earnings to a "failing price cap" and added that the cap was inhibiting competition.
It means that suppliers have less motive "to innovate and offer cheaper, competitive deals that could bring prices down," according to Richard Neudegg, the director of regulatory at Uswitch.
According to Centrica, the owner of British Gas, price increases were allowed to take place despite the price restriction so that energy companies could make up for losses incurred as a result of the jump in wholesale oil and gas prices that occurred during the Ukraine incursion.
It was stated that Centrica itself had underlying operational earnings of £2.1 billion for the first six months of the year, which is an increase from the £1.3 billion reported the previous year.
Even though current energy prices are lower than they were this time last year, energy companies have nonetheless been able to generate enormous profits from the sale of oil and gas.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 caused an increase in the price of oil and gas, which resulted in record profits for energy companies.
The oil and gas major Shell said that its profits dropped to $5 billion (or £3.9 billion) from April to June, in part because of the drop in prices.
Shell reported that it has been selling less oil and gas as well as making lesser revenues from the refining industry.