Low gas prices, nuclear plant shutdowns and warm weather led to Centrica, which owns British Gas, warning about an “impact on financial performance” STEVE PARSONS/PRESS ASSOCIATIONBritain’s biggest energy supplier has warned of lower profits after being battered by an almost “perfect storm” of problems in the first four months of the year. Centrica, which owns British Gas, said that low gas prices, prolonged nuclear plant shutdowns, the energy price cap and unseasonably warm weather had together made for an “extremely challenging trading environment”. It warned that this would “impact financial performance in the first half of 2019” and had put “some further pressure on the outlook for the full year”, which analysts believe is likely to result in Centrica’s dividend being cut. Centrica also disclosed that British Gas had lost a further 234,000 gas and electricity customer accounts, or 183,000 households, as the energy price cap rise led to a…

Source: The Times May 13, 2019 16:18 UTC