‘Privatisation premium’: billions from UK energy bills paid to shareholders

Analysis reveals sum equal to 24.2% of average bill taken as pre-tax profits by the major energy industries last year, rather than being reinvested

• UK public has paid 200bn to shareholders of key industries since privatisation - study

A quarter of the average UK energy bill was funding corporate profits last year, according to analysis that reveals the hidden cost of privatising some of the UK's key industries.

The study - part of a wider Who Owns Britain project by the Common Wealth thinktank - found that a sum equal to 24.2% of the average energy bill went to the pre-tax profits of the major electricity generators, networks and household suppliers in 2024.