Scottish politicians have renewed calls for a "proper" windfall tax on energy companies after British Gas owner Centrica announced record profits for 2022.
Centrica said its profits more than tripled from £948 million in 2021 to £3.3 billion in 2022.
Labour called for the UK Government to use a windfall tax to stop prices going up, while the Scottish Greens blasted the "obscene" money made by Centrica.
Its announcement comes soon after energy regulator Ofgem opened an urgent inquiry into the company force-fitting prepayment meters in the homes of vulnerable customers unable to pay their bills.
Energy companies have benefited from increased oil and gas prices caused by the war in Ukraine. BP announced that it made £23billion in profit last year, while Shell made £33billion. These were the highest profits that either company had ever recorded.
Bumper profits by producers in 2022 prompted the UK Government to launch a windfall tax, called the Energy Profits Levy.
But opposition parties have said that the windfall tax does not go far enough. An investment incentive loophole allows oil and gas firms to claw back more than 91 per cent of their capital investment in the form of tax relief.
The campaign group End Fuel Poverty Coalition said in December that ending the loophole would have generated at least £22bn in additional revenue.
Labour's Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said that it was time for the Government to tax the companies "properly".
He said: "It cannot be right that, as oil, gas and energy giants rake in the windfalls of this energy crisis, the Rishi Sunak's Conservatives refuse to implement a proper windfall tax that would make them pay their fair share.
“In a matter of weeks, the Government plans to allow the energy price cap to rise to £3,000. Labour would use a proper windfall tax to stop prices going up.
“When it comes to oil and gas interests, Rishi Sunak is too weak to stand up for the British people. Only Labour is on your side - with a plan to tackle the cost of living crisis now, and a long term plan to cut bills for good and make Britain a clean energy superpower.”
SNP energy spokesperson Alan Brown said that Centrica "should consider a much greater contribution back to society".
He said: "It is just staggering that such record profits have been announced – over £3bn for a single year. Centrica may give reasons for some of the profits, such as the sale of their Norwegian division. However, ultimately this is a company making record profits from record energy prices while families continue to suffer and many cannot turn on their heating.
"With another round of share buy-backs being implemented, this shows that the current windfall tax does not go far enough as these need to be taxed. We need to look at taxation levels of the trading divisions who are also making record profits within the Centrica Group. This is another aspect the UK Government hasn’t grasped – they talk about increased energy security from increased production in the North Sea, but ultimately the oil and gas is traded internationally and as we can see, traders will always look to maximise profits.
"To hear British Gas is still making money while they were still had a system of companies forcing themselves into homes to install pre-payment meters will anger many. Centrica argue their own £75m support package is more than the £72m profit from British Gas. That might be factually correct, but makes up just 2% of overall profit, so that puts the support package in perspective.
"I see that Centrica has made profits from its nuclear fleet and there is talk of them taking a stake in Sizewell C. I think that tells you all you need to know about where they think the future cash cow will be, which will again be paid for by billpayers. The UK Government really needs to get a grip of energy policy and taxation as a whole. They have been all over the place and we need to remember the additional windfall taxes applied to renewables is higher than that applied to oil and gas production.
"Centrica argue their profits is good for their pension pot shareholders – that might be true, but too many people will not live to be pensioners or live healthy long enough to fully enjoy their retirement properly. If the UK Government is not going to do anything, then I would suggest Centrica should consider a much greater contribution back to society."
The Scottish Greens environment spokesperson Mark Ruskell said that Centrica's profits show how "fatally broken our energy market is."
He said: "These profits are absolutely obscene. They show a staggering level of profiteering and greed, and really underline how fatally broken our energy market is.
"Right now, in every corner of the country, there are people and families suffering through a brutal cost of living crisis. They are the people who are paying for this. Many of them will be shocked, but not surprised, to see Centrica and the other fossil fuel giants celebrating record profits while the world is burning around us.
"We cannot continue like this. People's wellbeing and the future of our planet are at stake.
"We need to see a major investment in renewables and in our future. Green energy is the cheapest and cleanest energy available.
“That means closing the loopholes in the windfall tax to make it fit for purpose. That way we can ensure that these profits are being used to fuel a green recovery rather than continuing with a climate wrecking system that is failing people and planet.”
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