Centrica to recruit 300 IT experts

CENTRICA, the country's largest supplier of household power via its British Gas arm, is recruiting 300 computer whizzes in London as part of a £430m drive to help its customer service practices catch up with its rivals.

British Gas has long been at or near the top of customer complaints tables, and until now has even been unable to provide a single bill for those millions of customers it has persuaded to take its 'dual fuel' offering of gas and electricity.

The company, whose rocketing profits from household energy helped Centrica record profits of more than £1bn last year, is recruiting the 300 IT specialists as part of a major upgrade of its in-house information systems.

The specialists are to be deployed primarily at Staines, west London but also at other sites in Windsor, Heathrow and Slough, and represent a more than 25% increase in Centrica's information systems department.

According to a spokesman, the overhaul of outdated systems will also mean a more efficient deployment of engineers. 'The engineers' schedules will become more flexible and will allow much narrower appointment windows - one to two hours if needed or less, instead of four hours or so,' he said.

British Gas remains far and away the country's leading power provider, using its former gas supply monopoly to build up a substantial position in the electricity supply market.