Electricity prices are likely to rise by up to 10% next year. ESB chairman Tadhg O'Donoghue said the organisation was in talks with the energy regulator following steep rises in fuel costs.
But he said there was unlikely to be a double-digit percentage rise in prices.
The ESB also wants to double the charge for connecting homes to the electricity networks from the existing fee of €1,150.
This morning the company reported a 7% increase in after-tax profits for 2004. In its annual report, the ESB said that after tax profits came to €267m, representing a 6.6% return on group assets.
Speaking at the launch of the annual report, ESB Chairman Tadhg O'Donoghue reassured current company pensioners that they have no cause for concern. He said the assets of the company's pension fund were currently valued at more than €2.8 billion.
'The fund has no immediate liquidity problems and is capable of meeting pensioners entitlements for decades ahead,' Mr O'Donoghue said. ESB has confirmed that there has been no deterioration in the fund since the actuarial review carried out in 2003.
On the issue of energy prices, Mr O'Donoghue said that their continued increase was putting upward pressure on electricity costs. He said that fuel accounts for over 55% of all energy generation costs, and 30% of the overall cost of supplying consumers.
According to the company's annual report, the ESB reported a record 90,600 new connections to ESB Networks last year and it renewed 16,000km of its medium voltage networks.
