Just a handful of energy firms have posted over £8 billion in profits on UK operations in the first nine months of 2026. Profits for energy firms have surged since the US-led conflict with Iran started 250 days ago, adding to billions of profits reported since the energy price crisis started.

According to polling by Survation for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, 42% of the public believe the level of profits that have been made by the energy industry since 2020 are completely unacceptable, with 17% saying they are fairly unacceptable.

Opposition to these profits cuts across all political persuasions: 54% of the public who say they will consider voting Reform at the next general election believe the profits are unacceptable as do 59% of people tempted to vote Conservative. And 57% of those who would consider voting Labour thought the profits unacceptable as well as 63% of those considering the Lib Dems, 50% of possible Green voters, 49% of Restore supporters and 54% supporting other parties.

But as profits soar, the Survation polling also found that over two thirds (67%) of UK adults said they were worried about paying their energy bills if prices rise again in the new year.

Last week saw more multi-billion pound global profits announced by firms. Meanwhile, new analysis of the value of bosses’ shareholdings shows that the heads of BP, Equinor and Shell have together seen the value of their personal stakes in their firms rise by more than £9 million between 26th February and 30th October 2026.

Updated analysis of the publicly declared interests of members of the House of Lords shows that just a dozen members of the upper house sit on shares worth almost £2m, an increase of £475,000 in 2026 alone.

Non-executive directors of firms have also seen the value of their shares soar. For example, the Shell chair, Sir Andrew Mackenzie, holds Shell shares worth more than £1 million, and until July this year he also chaired UK Research and Innovation, the public body responsible for distributing billions of pounds of research funding.

Gas prices surged again last week and based on current wholesale trends in the gas markets, gas unit costs in January 2027 will be the highest ever paid by customers in Britain.

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented: “It’s champagne for shareholders but cold conditions for ordinary households who are struggling through a sixth winter of high energy bills. Life continues to get tougher for ordinary people, driven by the surging cost of gas and politicians seem unable or unwilling to take sufficient action to keep people warm this winter.

“While the Chancellor has offered a badly targeted and insufficient £100 payment to last households through a long winter ahead, energy firms have posted £300 in UK profits per UK household in just nine months. The time to get off the gas and oil price rollercoaster was five years ago but now every day we delay just makes life worse and keeps lining shareholders’ pockets.”

Jonathan Bean from Fuel Poverty Action added: “Energy bills are already unaffordable for millions of us, and this blatant profiteering from war will cause further suffering. Burnham has not got a grip on the fuel poverty crisis. £100 and warm words are not going to protect people this winter. Urgent action is needed now to slash the vast windfall profits of energy firms and bring prices down. Warm words must turn into real support before the cold bites.”

Reacting to news of huge profits posted today by Shell, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, Danny Gross, said: “Shell’s eyewatering profits today are a stark reminder that while ordinary people struggle to pay their bills, fossil fuel companies are continuing to cash in on the climate and cost of living crises. To stop fossil fuel companies draining ordinary people’s hard-earned money, we must transition away from expensive oil and gas towards cheap, clean renewable energy and make big polluters like Shell pay more for the immense damage they’ve unleashed on the planet and people’s pockets.”  

In response to news of enormous profits posted yesterday by BP, he added: “BP is raking in huge profits while doubling down on gas and oil production and slashing investment in renewables. The government must make energy affordable for everyone by removing the hidden taxes on electricity bills and forcing the worst climate offenders like BP pay their fair share for the damage they cause to fund a faster, fairer transition to cheap, clean energy.”

Image: https://picpedia.org/handwriting/p/profit.html License: Creative Commons 3 – CC BY-SA 3.0 Attribution: Alpha Stock Images – http://alphastockimages.com/ Original Author: Nick Youngson – link to – http://www.nyphotographic.com/