ESB profits fall by 10% due to impact of Storm Éowyn

The ESB Group has reported lower profits after tax for last year due to the "unprecedented impact" of Storm Éowyn.

ESB said its profits for the year to the end of December fell by €70m to €636m from €706m in 2024.

It reported additional operating costs of €95m in reconnecting customers on the island of Ireland and remediating the damage to networks infrastructure after the storm last January.

In its results statement, ESB said that international energy prices remain volatile and are at levels significantly higher than experienced before the energy crisis of 2022-23.

It is very conscious that energy prices remain challenging for customers, particularly since the current Iranian conflict started, it added.

ESB said there were over 38,000 residential connections made by ESB Networks last year, up 18% on 2024.

2025 also saw notable landmark milestones for ESB Group in the transition towards net zero carbon emissions, surpassing over two million smart meters installed in Ireland and the ending of generation using coal at Moneypoint power station as part of the longer-term transformation of the Co Clare site into a renewable energy hub.

It also secured the rights to develop the 900MW Tonn Nua offshore wind project off the coast of Waterford with Ørsted, while the company's growing solar portfolio includes 700MW currently in development.

ESB also noted that its employee numbers grew to over 10,000 in 2025.

The company said it is recommending a dividend of €149m from its 2025 profits, bringing its total dividends to €1.4 billion over the past decade.

The company added that it contributed €3.4 billion to the Irish economy in 2025 in the form of payroll, taxes, dividends and purchases from domestic suppliers.

Meanwhile, the energy company said that 2025 was another year of record levels of capital investment for it.

The total investment of €2.7 billion included over €1.7 billion investment in electricity networks in Ireland and Northern Ireland, over €600m invested in renewable generation projects - both wind and solar - and over €300m in dispatchable generation projects and other investments.

It said that further investment is required in the coming years to meet growing demand, with investment of about €20 billion planned across ESB Group over the next five years, including up to €16 billion in the electricity networks on the island of Ireland.

ESB Chief Financial Officer Paul Stapleton said the results reflect ESB's continued commitment to delivering substantial investment in critical energy infrastructure for the Irish economy, society and its customers.

"We are rising to that challenge in the context of housing connections and economic growth, climate change, and our net zero carbon ambitions," he said.

"Our 2025 financial performance has enabled us to deliver a record capital investment of €2.7 billion in critical energy infrastructure, while retaining the financial strength to invest at even greater scale in the years ahead," he added.