ESB Chairman Tadhg O'Donoghue has said the company would reduce electricity prices by 5-10% if it had the power to do so.
He called for a change in the way the Commission for Energy Regulation sets the price ESB charges.
Mr O'Donoghue said the ESB wants the regulator to have the power to only set the maximum price, which would give the the company the freedom to lower the prices.
He was speaking at the publication of the ESB 2006 Annual Report, which showed profits of €223m for the year, down €18m on 2005.
The regulator says that to give the ESB the flexibility it seeks would be anti-competitive because of its dominance in the market.
All the same, the regulator says electricity prices will come down from November next because gas prices have fallen and because the Single north-south Electricity Market will then come into effect.
But the regulator would not be drawn on how much of a reduction ESB customers will see on their bills.
