UK energy firms raking in £30bn a year, Unite research finds

(Sharecast News) - Energy providers across the UK made £30bn in profits before tax in 2024, according to a new report by the Unite trade union on Monday, with households paying £500 a year on average for company profits alone. The report, Energy Profiteering, found that the average profit margin in the sector was 23% - three times the national average - increasing to 38% in some areas of the sector.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said that "households are being fleeced pure and simple" at a time when energy bills have risen by 42% since the winter of 2021. "The government is turning a blind eye to these excessive profits. That must change. Everyday people cannot continue to pay."

Some have claimed that green levies are to blame for the UK having the highest energy bills in Europe, though they only account for a third of energy profits, at £9.9bn.

"We need to look at other countries like France and begin to plan to own our own energy. Only then, can the ever-bulging profits currently going to shareholders, be used to keep bills down for households and businesses," Graham said.

The Unite report, which called for several measures to end corporate profiteering such as the denationalisation of grid operators, detailed how ultrarich, international investors have benefitted significantly from their interests in the UK energy market.

Investment firms Blackrock and Vanguard are among those with major stakes in UK energy companies, along with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky (via EP), Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka Shing (shareholder in UK Power Networks) and renowned American investor Warren Buffett (shareholder in Norther Powergrid).

Unite claims that public ownership of the energy system - through which the taxpayer would buy back assets at their book value - would cost £90bn, equal to just three years' worth of energy profits.