The ESB has confirmed that it anticipates a rise in electricity prices of 10% to 20% next year. The company has blamed higher oil and gas prices for the increase. A final decision on how much prices will rise will be made by the energy regulator later this year.
Next year's rise comes after increases of 3% for 2006, 4% for 2005 and almost 9% for 2004. The average price of a bill is currently €123 every two months, so a price rise of 10-20% will push that up by €12-24.
The news came as ESB reported pre-tax profits of €240m for last year, up 31% on 2004, though this was mainly due to once-off items including the sale of businesses and property. Total revenue grew by 12% to €2.76 billion.
Chairman Tadhg O'Donoghue said the continued rise in global fuel costs was obscuring the extent of savings achieved by the company through job numbers and work practices. Wages costs fell by €24m in the year, with staff numbers dropping by 1,000.
The chairman said the price paid by consumers was affected more by fuel costs than any internal measures the ESB could implement.
ESB's share of the power generation market fell to 63% of the market, and is expected to drop further to 50% by the end of this year. As a result, the company is continuing to look for opportunities in the international market.
