2010 to 2019
On 13 June 2010 Centrica, through Direct Energy, acquired Clockwork Home Services. Combining with the existing energy offer made Centrica the largest provider of heating and cooling, plumbing and electrical services in North America.[31] On 17 November 2010, Centrica acquired the assets of heat pump installation company Cool Planet Technologies Ltd. for £0.5 million in cash. This aimed to boost the company's strategy of developing a broad range of low carbon technologies and advice.[32]
In February 2012, Centrica signed a £2 billion three-year contract with Qatargas for the purchase of 2.4 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas.[33] In March 2011, Centrica agreed the sale of the electricity and gas supply business of its Netherlands based subsidiary Oxxio to Eneco BV for €72 million (£63 million) in cash. The sale completed Centrica's exit from the supply of electricity and gas in Continental Europe, following the earlier disposal of its supply businesses in Belgium and Spain.[34]
In November 2011, Centrica agreed to buy $1.6 billion stakes of eight fields on the Norwegian continental shelf from Statoil ASA. In a second deal, Centrica agreed to buy five billion cubic meters a year gas from the same company from 2015 to 2025 as equal to 5% of gas consumption in the United Kingdom.[35] Centrica's Germany based trading division Centrica Energie GmbH was closed in April 2012.[36]
In July 2013, it was announced that Centrica would acquire the energy marketing unit of Hess Corporation for $1.03 billion.[37] In March 2014, Centrica acquired the retail arm and other assets belonging to Ireland's state owned Bord Gáis for a fee of around €1.1 billion.[38] In 2010, Centrica entered into joint venture arrangements with Tullow Oil to explore for oil in the South Lokichar Basin in Kenya.[39]
In August 2014, Tullow, the operator, revealed significant oil discoveries had been made in the Etom 1 exploration well and testing block 10BB, which expanded the already proven South Lokichar Basin "significantly northwards," taking in an additional 247 km2.[40] In September 2013, Centrica established Hive as part of its Connected Home offering, building on its Remote Heating Control service provided through its British Gas subsidiary.[41]
In February 2015, in light of significantly changed circumstances, a fundamental strategic review was launched. This focused on outlook and sources of growth; portfolio mix and capital intensity; operating capability and efficiency; and group financial framework. The review was a detailed analysis of the group's prospects, led by Centrica's senior management. It concluded that Centrica's strength lay in being a customer-facing business and that all activities and priorities would focus on meeting customers' changing needs. The shape of the group would be reworked to reflect this, including one group-wide efficiency programme that would reduce employee numbers by around 6,000.[42]
Also in February 2015, under its British Gas brand, Centrica completed the acquisition of AlertMe, a connected home company based in the United Kingdom that provided innovative energy management products and services.[43] In November 2015, Direct Energy also acquired Panoramic Power, a provider of device-level energy management technology, for $60 million (£39 million).[44]
In April 2016, Centrica acquired Neas Energy A/S (Neas), one of Europe's providers of energy management and revenue optimisation services for decentralised third-party owned assets.[45] It also acquired ENER-G Cogen International Limited ("ENER-G Cogen"), an established supplier and operator of combined heat and power (CHP) systems and REstore NV, Europe's demand response aggregator.[46]
In June 2017, it was announced that the CQ Energy Canada Partnership, the Canadian exploration and production joint venture in which Centrica owned a 60% interest, was to be sold to a consortium comprising MIE Holdings Corporation, The Can-China Global Resource Fund and Mercuria for a purchase price of C$722 million (£413 million) in cash.[47]
On 21 June 2017, the company agreed to sell its operational Langage and South Humber Bank combined cycle gas turbine power stations, with a combined capacity of 2.3 GW, to EP UK Investments Ltd for £318million in cash.[48]
On 11 December 2017, Centrica combined its North Sea exploration & production business with Bayerngas Norge, to form a joint venture named Spirit Energy with the German, Austrian and Swiss owners of Bayerngas, led by German energy and infrastructure firm Stadtwerke München (SWM).[49]
In December 2017, the Competition and Markets Authority agreed to grant Centrica plc and Centrica Storage Limited's (CSL's) request to be released from the Rough Undertakings. CSL decided that it could no longer operate Rough as a storage facility as the facility was no longer capable of safe injection operations due to its age and condition and that due to the economics of seasonal storage, neither refurbishing or rebuilding the facility would be cost-effective.[50]
The British Gas brand lost 750,000 domestic customers in 2017 amid intense competition, contributing to a February 2018 announcement that 4,000 jobs would be cut.[51] Centrica cut its dividend in July 2019, after making a loss of £446 million in the prior six months.[52]
