Centrica operates across the energy value chain; we make it, store it, move it, sell it, mend it. Our strategy is to create shareholder value by delivering the energy needed today and the energy security, efficiency and decarbonisation solutions of the future.
An integrated energy company positioned for a changing energy system
Electricity demand in our core markets is set to materially increase by 2050, driven by the electrification of transport and residential heating, as well as emerging demand from areas such as data centres. Meanwhile, power grids are already becoming more complex, with an ever-increasing reliance on greener, but more intermittent, renewable generation capacity. Customers are also becoming increasingly engaged in home energy management, which will drive increased demand for innovative customer propositions.
With market-leading positions across the energy value chain, our portfolio is well-positioned to benefit from these trends, as each of our businesses de-risks, complements and adds value to the others. These dynamics also provide us with significant future opportunities aligned with our strategy and net zero ambitions.
To capitalise on the growth opportunities ahead of us, we’re adopting a simple, focused approach:
Operational excellence - Continuously improving to increase our efficiency, reduce costs and enhance customer satisfaction
Commercial focus - Innovating to deliver compelling customer propositions and building optionality
Investing for value – Investing to make Centrica a more predictable business, delivering strong returns across Centrica
Our Businesses
Distinct, but complementary, they all share the same goal and purpose – energising a greener, fairer future.
Retail
Our Retail businesses have over 10m energy supply and services customers, strong brands, and the UK’s largest energy services workforce. We are a crucial part of the energy system, with a key role to play in supporting our customers’ decarbonisation journeys.
Optimisation
Our Optimisation businesses use our world-class capabilities to move energy from source to use, supporting the responsible buying and selling of energy and managing risk across our portfolio.
Infrastructure
Our Infrastructure businesses bring gas and electricity to the market every day through our stake in the UK’s nuclear fleet, our growing portfolio of renewable and flexible assets and Spirit Energy. We also have our unique Rough gas storage asset, which provides more than half the UK’s gas storage capacity.
Maximising sustainable profitability
Having simplified our portfolio and improved operational performance, we remain focused on maximising sustainable profitability from our portfolio.
We expect to deliver around £1bn of adjusted EBITDA1 on average each year by 2026 from our Retail and Optimisation activities, equating to around £800m2 of sustainable adjusted operating profit. Over time, we expect cash flow from our existing Infrastructure assets to be replaced by a contribution from assets we are developing as part of our focus on investing for value. Earnings from these new assets should be more stable, helping provide a more reliable, rateable earnings stream over the longer term.
Investing for value
We aim to invest up to £4bn through to 2028, focusing on assets that generate attractive returns, complement our existing businesses, provide balance to the portfolio and align to the needs of the energy transition. Over 50% of this investment is expected to be in green taxonomy eligible projects, which will help us meet our 2040 net zero target (Scope 1 & Scope 2) and help our customers reach net zero by 2050 (Scope 3).
Our investment programme includes our Meter Asset Provider (MAP) business, our two 100MW gas peaking plants in Dublin and Athlone which are due to commence operations in the second half of 2025, our acquisition of ENSEK, the company which powers our Ignition customer platform in British Gas Energy, and a range of other flexible and renewable power generation and storage assets.
We announced in early 2025 that we are further expanding our presence in the Irish power market with a planned 334MW flexible peaking plant in Galway. We retain attractive options for potential hydrogen and carbon capture investments at our Rough and Morecambe Net Zero (Spirit Energy) assets, both of which could be backed by government regulatory mechanisms, and we continue to invest in new renewable and flexible power assets, including our investment into Highview Power, which is developing the first commercial-scale Liquid Air Energy Storage plant in the UK.
Balance sheet strength and delivering compelling shareholder returns
A strong balance sheet and investment grade credit rating are essential for the efficient running of the Group. As a responsible energy supplier, we manage the risk of generating and providing energy to our customers by hedging our procurement and route-to-market commodity price exposures, which can be significant.
Building on our strong operational foundation, we can see a pathway for the Group to deliver run-rate adjusted EBITDA1 of around £1.6bn by the end of 2028. This consists of £1bn from our existing Retail and Optimisation activities, around £0.2bn from our existing Infrastructure businesses, up to £0.2bn from our MAP and Irish Peakers, and around £0.2bn from new projects. Around 85% of this is from activities generating earnings today or projects already underway.
Delivering cash returns to shareholders is a core priority for the Group. In July 2022 we reintroduced a progressive dividend policy, and have announced a planned 22% increase in our dividend per share for 2025 to 5.5 pence. We expect dividend cover to move to around two times adjusted earnings by 2028.
We are also committed to returning surplus capital to shareholders. We have committed to return a total of £2bn via our ongoing share buyback programme by around the end of 2025. Beyond this, we see potential additional capital headroom being generated through to the end of 2028, with any additional distributions to be reviewed against our investment opportunity set, our rigorous financial framework and the future outlook.
Footnotes:
1 – Adjusted EBITDA including Centrica’s share of EBITDA from joint ventures and associates.
2 – With a range of £600m-£1,000m adjusted operating profit.
Also in this section
KPIs
Our Key Performance Indicators help the Board and executive management assess performance against our Group Priorities.
Our Businesses
Our businesses make us uniquely integrated across the UK energy industry.