Irish grid operator EirGrid has reported a drop in pre-tax profits for the period from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023.
Group profit before tax was €71.2m, down from €114.9m in 2022 due to regulatory timing differences and higher operating costs reflecting the increasing scale and complexity of the business.
However, excluding the impact of over and under recoveries on reported profit, management’s estimate of the underlying profit for 2023 was €40.6m, up from €26.3m in 2022.
The related over-recovery will be returned to Transmission Use of System (TUoS) customers through a reduction in tariffs in future years.
During the report period, a new maximum peak of demand in Ireland of 5544MW was recorded with 42% of electricity in Ireland came from renewables in 2023.
New capacity energised onto the system included 300MW of solar; 150MW of wind projects; and 75MW of new batteries.
Furthermore, the ability to operate the system with more renewables on the system at the same time was increased to 75%, with 512 hours of system operation above 70% SNSP over this period.
The company is proposing to pay a dividend of €4m to the government, which is unchanged from last year.
Chair of EirGrid Group Brendan Tuohy said: “EirGrid continues to deal with the dual challenge of decarbonising the electricity system to meet the government’s targets for 2030 and beyond, whilst at the same time ensuring security of supply.
“I am pleased to report that we had a very successful year, operating the electricity system safely and securely, despite challenging circumstances, while also progressing key elements of our EirGrid Strategy (2020-2025) to support meeting the government’s climate ambitions.”
Eirgrid interim chief executive Martin Corrigan added: “EirGrid Group’s Annual Report shows a clear momentum, particularly in terms of the delivery of significant projects which will play a key role in achieving our purpose of transforming the electricity system for future generations.”