Centrica to sell off its US energy retail arm in a £2.8bn deal

British Gas owner Centrica has said it will sell off its US energy retail arm in a 3.63 billion US dollar (£2.8 billion) deal.
British Gas owner Centrica has said it will sell off its US energy retail arm in a 3.63 billion US dollar (2.8 billion) deal.British Gas owner Centrica has said it will sell off its US energy retail arm in a 3.63 billion US dollar (2.8 billion) deal.
British Gas owner Centrica has said it will sell off its US energy retail arm in a 3.63 billion US dollar (2.8 billion) deal.

Direct Energy, which was bought by Centrica in 2000, will be sold to NRG Energy, allowing the British company to focus on its home markets in the UK and Ireland.

Direct Energy has around 4,000 employees and four million customers, making it one of North America’s largest gas and electricity suppliers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The news of the US sale came as Centrica, which is trying to turn around its flagging fortunes, revealed that it had more than halved its pre-tax loss to £264 million in the six months to June 30, compared to £569 million over the same period last year.

The company said it had lost 5% of its home energy customers, bringing it to around 5.2 million.

Chief executive Chris O’Shea, who took over earlier this year, said: “Centrica delivered a resilient performance against the unprecedented backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis during the first half of the year.

“That is due to the response of colleagues across the group to keep our customers warm, safe and supplied with energy and services during the pandemic. I am truly grateful for their efforts.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Our mission now is to turn around the company by putting customers at the heart of everything we do and creating a simpler, leaner, more modern and more sustainable company.

“The sale of Direct Energy is a fundamental step towards this, and although we have a lot more to do, we have the people, the brands and the market positions to deliver a successful turnaround.”

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.