OPERATING PROFITS AT ESB rose to €847 million last year amid high energy prices, a sharp increase on the €679 million of operating profits recorded in 2021.

ESB today published its financial statements for 2022.

It said the €168 million increase on operating profit before exceptional items was “primarily due to the impact of higher wholesale prices in Generation and Trading businesses both in Ireland and Britain”.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, the CEO of ESB Paddy Hayes acknowledged that it’s been an “increased profit year” at a “time when electricity prices continue to remain high”.

However, he said that “none of those profits have come from our residential customer book”.

“In fact, we made a decision to forego profits in our residential customer book,” said Hayes.

He added: “I think it’s important to emphasise that because we operate under licence, we’re not in a position to use increased profits in generation to reduce the electricity prices for our retail customers.”

When asked if decreases in wholesale energy prices would soon be reflected in customer’s bills, Hayes said: “Because it’s a competitive market, I’m not in a position to make forward looking statements in relation to price.

“But what I can say is when we’re in a position to reduce prices, we will.”

ESB operates Electric Ireland, which reported an operating loss of €109 million last year.

A statement from Paul Stapleton, ESB’s Chief Financial Officer, said: ““As a regulated entity, ESB is required to operate Electric Ireland, its supply business, on a standalone basis.

“It is not permitted to subsidise that business (including the prices that it charges to its customers) with revenues earned from its networks or generation businesses.

“Electric Ireland did not make any profit in its residential electricity supply business in Ireland last year as we returned more than €55 million through a €50 credit to each of our more than 1.1 million residential customers in December and increased our Hardship Fund to €5 million.”

Stapleton added that “ESB recognises that high energy prices are difficult for our customers”.

He said: “2022 has been an extraordinary year in global energy markets with volatile and high wholesale prices leading to exceptionally high profits from ESB’s generation businesses in Ireland and Britain.”

ESB is also recommending an enhanced dividend of €327 million, up from €126 million in 2021, and delivered record levels of capital investment of €1.4 billion last year.

Stapleton said this is investment in “critical energy infrastructure and network resilience, cementing our commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2040”.

This included the connection of 23 large-scale renewable generator projects.

Hayes told Morning Ireland that this investment in renewable energy should bring down bills for customers in the future.

“The reason electricity prices are high at the moment, is to do with high wholesale gas prices.

“The more renewables that we can bring on the system, the less our dependence on those high gas prices and the more we can bring cost down ultimately.”