Greedy energy giant SSE said yesterday it is on course to make a whopping £1.54 billion profit this year

The news - two months after announcing big price rises - is likely to spark fresh anger following calls for a cap on household gas and electricity bills as incomes continue to be squeezed.

The situation is so bad that six million households in Britain are behind on their energy bills.

SSE raised tariffs by an average of 8.2 per cent from November.

Bills will be cut by 3.5 per cent for the group's nine million residential customers from March 24 after the government's green levy was reduced but hard-pressed households must still cope with an above-inflation rise.

SSE's chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies gloated that despite the "difficult business environment," it was encouraging that the group was on course to deliver more profits and cash for shareholders.

It said in a trading update that its full-year dividend would be up by 3 per cent and its adjusted profit before tax for the year ending on March 31 was likely to rise in line with market expectations to £1.54 billion - an increase of 8.8 per cent on 2012/13.

This was despite the number of electricity and gas customer accounts in Britain and Ireland falling from 9.47 million to 9.22 million, while average consumption of electricity in Britain fell by 4.3 per cent and gas by 9.5 per cent - when comparing the nine months to the end of December last year to 2012.

Shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint said: "The reason the energy companies think they can get away with treating their customers so poorly is because they know David Cameron will never stand up to them."

Communist Party general secretary Rob Griffiths said: "These figures give the lie to the notion that price increases are necessary to fund investment.

"Almost half the domestic fuel profits go directly to dividends for shareholders. It only underlines the case for public ownership."