Not so long ago, utilities were the workhorses of the stock market. Selling water, gas and electricity may not have been the stuff of unicorn dreams, but it was solid, sturdy activity — and the source of dependable dividends for investors.
The days of plenty are fast fading from memory, however. Consider Centrica. Over the past three years, the owner of British Gas has lost half its market value. Over-zealous regulation, rising competition and a plummeting oil price have conspired to shred its share price. The spectre of an energy price cap has merely compounded the agony.
Yet Iain Conn, the BP veteran who took the helm at the start of 2015, has even knottier problems to solve. The energy business is in a state