Chief executive of British Gas's parent company is also awarded an £848,000 bonus that will vest in three years' time
The boss of Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, was handed a potential £4.3m last year as long-term performance-related deals paid out.
As gas and electricity prices rocketed for cash-strapped Britons, the chief executive, Sam Laidlaw, was paid a salary and benefits of £1.3m in 2011. In the same year, he was able to cash in shares worth £3m, awarded as bonuses dating back to 2008. Centrica argued that figure included investment shares, which have been counted as part of Laidlaw's salary and bonuses in previous years. Discounting those shares, Laidlaw could have cashed in shares to the value of £2.5m in 2011.
A spokesman said: "Although they vested in 2011, those bonuses were based on performance during the previous three years, which was a period of very strong growth for the company."
On top of this multimillion-pound payout, Laidlaw was also awarded a bonus worth £848,000 in shares that will vest in three years' time.
Last August, British Gas raised electricity prices by 16% and gas prices by 18%, although it has since cut electricity prices by 5%, while leaving gas prices unchanged. In February, Centrica faced renewed criticism over household energy prices when it reported pre-tax profits of £2.4bn from revenues of £22.8bn for 2011.
The company is changing its bonus structure.
Lesley Knox, head of Centrica's remuneration committee, said in the annual report that Centrica would shift the focus of targets for bonus payouts away from earnings per share and towards other measures. "The committee felt that the scheme was driven exclusively by financial metrics and did not acknowledge the other key drivers of sustained performance, including customer perceptions and service levels, employee engagement and health and safety," she wrote.
Centrica will also introduce a means of clawing back deferred bonuses, "if it is subsequently discovered that results have been achieved by behaviour which fails to reflect the governance and values of the business", Knox wrote.