Energy firms attacked for 'outrageous' profits

Consumer groups accused the trio - German-owned Powergen and Npower and Frenchowned EDF Energy - of raking in "big, fat profit margins" over the winter following last year's energy bill rises.

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All the major energy companies have been criticised for not cutting household bills quickly enough this year after the wholesale prices they pay for gas and electricity dropped dramatically.

First quarter financial results for the trio's parent companies show how higher bills for customers have benefited shareholders.

The most spectacular increase in profits came at German utility group E-on, owner of the Powergen brand, which has nine million British customers.

Chief executive Wulf Bernotat, who earned £3.37 million last year, said the firm's UK operations made a profit of £298 million in the first three months of the year, more than 10 times the figure for last year's first quarter.

Mr Bernotat said the increase was "primarily due to lower gas procurement costs"

Last year, Powergen increased its domestic tariffs for gas by 47.3 per cent and electricity by 29.9 per cent.

At RWE, which owns Npower, first quarter profits soared from £717million to £1.57 billion.

The company, led by £10million-a-year chief executive Harry Roels, said RWE had experienced "above-average growth" thanks to price increases and lower wholesale prices.

Npower customers suffered three price rises last year.

EDF's UK sales climbed 15 per cent to £1.78 billion after the company, whose chief executive is Vincent de Rivaz, increased its gas and electricity prices four times in two years.

In a statement to shareholders, EDF pointed to "the impact of tariff increases for electricity and natural gas which took place in 2006" as the major factor in the improvement.

Karen Darby, founder of price comparison website Simplyswitch.com, said: "It is outrageous. How can they say publicly 'we're doing our best for customers' while scoffing to shareholders 'we've done really well out of these price rises?'"

Allan Asher, chief executive of consumer group Energywatch, blamed regulator Ofgem for failing to act to make the energy market more competitive.

He said: "I am concerned that the regulator has been asleep at the wheel.

"The recent price cuts have only been a fraction of the rises over the past three years when gas has gone up 95 per cent and electricity by 65 per cent.

"Some have not even taken effect yet, a year after wholesale prices fell by 50 per cent."

Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action agreed that falling wholesale prices should be passed on to customers more quickly.

Chief executive William Gillis said: "We call on all the energy companies to introduce effective social tariffs that will protect the most vulnerable in society from the impacts of the general trend seen over the past few years of rising energy costs.

"The Government target of ending fuel poverty for vulnerable people by 2010 is unlikely to be met with current energy prices unless effective social tariffs are introduced."

A spokesman for E-on said: "We had an absolutely rotten first quarter in 2006, when we got caught out in the gas market, so this is more of a return to normal profits.

"Also, the effect of the price cut we announced in February will not come through until the second quarter."