The ESB has defended its approach to pricing for its residential and business customers in a briefing note posted on its website.
In the note, the company claims that its strategy of hedging, or agreeing fixed prices, has saved each Electric Ireland residential customer €650 over the past two years.
It says that before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, wholesale gas prices rose 400% from mid-2020 to the end of 2021.
Due to its hedging strategy, the company says it was able to delay increasing its prices for "almost a year" and in smaller increments.
Its briefing note says while wholesale gases have fallen in recent months, they are still 350% higher than two years ago.
It also states that cumulative price increases for both residential and commercial customers "are in line with each other... although timing of price change announcements can be different across sectors".
It says the ESB is not permitted to subsidise the prices in its Electric Ireland subsidiary with profits made in other parts of its business.
It repeated its statement that it did not make a profit on its residential electricity customers last year and returned €55m through a €50 credit on each bill.
Its note says wholesale costs this year, which are mainly gas, are "largely set by wholesale prices throughout 2022".
It says that over time, as more contracts are based on current prevailing and lower-priced forward contracts that wholesale costs "will converge to new market levels".
It says it is "acutely aware" of the impact of energy bills on families and businesses and will continue to keep its prices under review.
