Ofgem pays record staff bonuses as bills soar

STAFF at the Government quango in charge of regulating gas and electricity prices have received record bonus payments, while households continue to battle soaring bills.

- By Matthew Davis

Workers at Ofgem have shared payouts totalling £5.1million over the past four years, and have taken home an average of more than £1,000 extra every year in performance-related pay.

At the same time, households have had to fork out record amounts to try to keep their homes warm, with domestic fuel bills soaring by more than 50% in just two years.

Ofgem has revealed a record 1,233 staff at its organisation were handed a total of £1.4million in bonus payments last year.

The watchdog, which is headed by £200,000-a-year chief executive Jonathan Brearley, has been criticised for failing to protect consumers from the global volatility of energy prices.