Flaming cheek! £1m-a-year gas chief tells families: 'Just wear two jumpers'

A gas firm boss faced a heated backlash yesterday after telling families struggling with soaring fuel bills to 'wear two jumpers'.

Jake Ulrich of Centrica - the parent company of British Gas - was attacked for his 'flippant' and 'out of touch' remarks.

The 55-year-old, who earns more than £1million a year, was accused of having no sympathy with his cash-strapped customers. His firm warned yesterday that gas bills could rise to more than £1,000 a year by 2010.

Consumer group Energywatch called Mr Ulrich's comments 'a slap in the face' for British Gas customers.

A spokesman said: ' The remarks demonstrate how out of touch they are with the daily struggle for their vulnerable customers to keep warm. British Gas and Centrica claim to take fuel poverty seriously. Comments like this don't help anyone.'

Mr Ulrich provoked the storm by referring to U.S. President Jimmy Carter's advice during the 1977 oil crisis - when he told Americans to put on a jumper and turn down their thermostats to save energy.

The Centrica boss said: 'I hate to go back to the Jimmy Carter days in the U.S., but maybe it's "two jumpers instead of one".

'I think that people will change the temperature at which they keep their homes, they will be more cognisant of energy waste and will buy better appliances.'

Commentators noted that what seemed like friendly advice from a national leader had a somewhat different tone coming from a man whose company is profiting handsomely from the fuel price rises.

Over the last five years, British Gas has increased its prices seven times, including inflation-busting rises of up to 19 per cent in the depths of winter.

Mr Ulrich's remarks have also been compared with the comments often attributed to French Queen Marie Antoinette.

She is said to have responded to complaints that the ordinary people were too poor to buy bread by saying loftily: 'Let them eat cake'.

In addition to a £1million salary as managing director of Centrica Energy, Mr Ulrich has a pension pot worth £3.2million.

He earns £20,000 a week - in stark contrast to two-thirds of single pensioners in this country, who according to the Office for National Statistics have just £200 to cover the same period.

Gordon Lishman of the charity Age Concern said: 'An extra jumper is not the solution to pensioner fuel poverty.

'We estimate more than one in three pensioner households could be in fuel poverty by the end of the year, which is a national disgrace.'

Gas prices are likely to soar, possibly rising to more than £1,000 by 2010

Households are classed as being in fuel poverty if they must spend more than ten per cent of their disposable income on fuel bills.

Around 2.25million pensioner households are in this state - and this number will soar if gas giants press ahead with rumoured price hikes.

Many older people are already dreading the winter months, knowing they will not be able to afford to keep warm.

Fears of another huge price rise were raised by a report commissioned by Centrica from the analysts Eclipse Energy.

It said that as North Sea oil runs down, the UK will become increasingly reliant on imports.

British energy firms will therefore have to pay top prices to secure the limited resources.

It blames bill increases on the fact that the price of gas is tied to oil, which has spiralled to more than $140 a barrel.

There were suggestions that the report, which was extensively publicised yesterday, was being used to justify big price hikes.

By publicising rises of nearly 70 per cent, suppliers could be hoping that customers will view smaller - but still double-digit - rises as a lucky escape. However, any increase in fuel prices would devastate millions who are already struggling with underwhelming pay rises and rising bills.

Household bills from food to fuel - and particularly mortgages - have rocketed this year, putting families under huge financial pressure.

Steve Bloomfield, national officer from the Unison union, said: 'British Gas and the other energy companies, who are trying to soften people up for another round of price hikes, ought to be ashamed of themselves.'

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the solution was not to tell the public to put on a second jumper, but to make sure everybody was on the cheapest possible energy supply deal.

Many customers are struggling to pay bills which could easily be cut if they switched to internet-only accounts, he said.

'Rather than making flippant remarks about jumpers, energy bosses should be offering real help to families trying to pay rising fuel bills,' Mr Clegg added.

'A good start would be making sure that the poorest and most vulnerable people are being offered the best deals before winter arrives.'

Mr Ulrich last night apologised for the comments, which were made to Channel 4 News on Thursday - and insisted that he had not meant to cause any offence.

He added: 'My comments were intended to reflect that people are already thinking about energy efficiency as a way of offsetting increasing energy prices.

'Upon reflection, I appreciate how they might have been misconstrued and regret any offence caused.'

Just wrap up warm!

Jake Ulrich's hard-pressed customers might think his remarks are a little bit rich... particularly coming from him.

The wealthy energy boss - whose Centrica firm owns British Gas - has a seven-figure salary to protect him from the financial worries caused by the credit crunch.

The heating bills for his palatial £5million three-storey mansion, for instance, must hardly make a dent in his bank balance.

It's also fair to say that buying an extra jumper will not be a problem for the greyhaired millionaire, who is well-rewarded for his work by Centrica.

Mr Ulrich, 55, and his wife Martha have lived in their West London home since
1994.

The couple jealously guard their privacy. Their house - with its Downing Street-style shiny black door - has pretty window boxes and is situated in one of the most soughtafter areas of the capital.

The property is worth at least £5million and is opposite the home of Kylie Minogue.

Jake Urlich's £5m, three-storey house in London

However, Mr Ulrich clearly believes you can never be too careful with your money.
He has placed the mortgage for the property offshore in the Isle of Man.

The reason for having such an arrangement, according to one financial expert, is to save on tax for the American-born businessman, who is still thought to own property back in the U.S.

'Banks such as these can offer not only cheaper repayments in dollars, but a tax-efficient way of buying a house for a non domicile,' he added.

As for his own salary, Mr Ulrich last year earned a total of £1,033,000 after becoming managing director of Centrica PLC in 1997.

He is due to retire at the end of the month and is listed as having more than £3million in share options linked to the firm.

He also has a pension pot that stands at £3.2million. It rose by £900,000 in value last year alone.

But when he gives up work at the end of the month, Mr Ulrich will sadly lose the use of his personal chauffeur.

The driver regularly takes him from his home to Centrica's Berkshire headquarters in Windsor.

This means Mr Ulrich will also lose the certain number of chauffeured trips he is allowed to take outside of work hours, under 'limited personal mileage'.

But he would undoubtedly get little sympathy from the shivering ranks of his customers.
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