Last year, the ESB saw a 33 per cent rise in profits, totalling €868 million, primarily driven by its successful operations in the UK, according to a statement from the State-owned power firm on Thursday. It also detailed the commitment to provide a €220 million dividend to the State based on these profits, making it a grand total of €1.4 billion that the company has contributed to the Exchequer over a decade.
The Chief Financial Officer, Paul Stapleton, suggested that the energy crisis which emerged in 2022 because of the Ukraine conflict had alleviated somewhat last year, but the wholesale prices were still considerably high. He also noted that despite Electric Ireland, a subsidiary business, recently reducing provisioning prices for households and commercial premises, the company conscientiously acknowledged that customers were still contending with expensive rates.
The profit growth can also be attributed partly to considerably increased inputs from its UK wing, that constitutes nearly one-fourth of its total surplus, informed by the ESB. The energy businesses they own in Britain include wind farms and a power plant.
There was an increase in ESB investment by €334 million bringing it to a total of €1.73 billion in 2023. Mr Stapleton projected that the overall capital expenditure will surpass €11 billion in course of the coming half a decade.
With a triumphant financial result in 2023, the ESB managed to achieve two successive years of record capital investment into energy infrastructure. Mr Stapleton reiterated that such an investment happens to be “crucial” in encouraging the Republic towards a zero-carbon energy system.