Paul Stapleton, Executive Director, Group Finance and Commercial, provides an insight into our 2024 annual financial accounts.
We have published our annual results for 2024. At €706 million, our operating profit has seen a reduction of 19% on 2023 – yet represents a solid performance in the context of changing market circumstances. Our continued financial strength enabled a record capital investment of €2.2 billion (including joint ventures) in critical energy infrastructure over the year, supporting Ireland’s economic growth and climate goals. Behind the numbers is a story of steady progress on our journey to empower a sustainable energy future for the customers and communities we serve.
North star – Net Zero
In a year when global temperature records were broken yet again, we redoubled our commitment to our north-star objective: to achieve net zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040.
Renewables remain the engine of our decarbonisation journey, and we took important steps to build out our capacity in 2024. We expanded our onshore wind portfolio with the acquisition of the Pallas wind farm in Co Kerry, while our FuturEnergy Ireland joint venture with Coillte secured contracts for three projects in the RESS 4 onshore auction. Offshore, a milestone was reached as first power was exported from Neart na Gaoithe wind farm off the coast of Scotland, our joint venture with EDF.
Solar has become increasingly central to our net zero ambitions. This year, our Timahoe North solar joint venture with Bord na Móna saw first export of power, and three further solar projects are progressing at Bullstown (Co Meath), Drombeg (Co Kerry) and Midleton House (Co Longford). We also connected 530 MW of solar generation (including mini, micro, small-scale and utility scale generation) in 2024, bringing the total amount of solar generation on the system to 1.5 GW.
Reducing the carbon intensity of our existing generation portfolio, we secured planning permission in 2024 to convert Moneypoint generating station to run on heavy fuel oil, a vital step towards ending the use of coal in 2025, and it will only be required to operate when the electricity system is short of generating capacity. These efforts are bearing fruit, as the carbon intensity of the electricity we generate fell further over 2024 – and is now down 46% on the reference year of 2005.
The next five years will be crucial to securing the groundwork towards our 2040 goal. The ESB Net Zero Pathway Report, published last spring, defined interim targets for 2030. We commissioned rating agency Moody’s to carry out an independent third-party assessment on ESB's Net Zero Pathway Report through a Moody’s Net Zero Assessment, assigning a score of NZ-3 (significant) which indicates that our ambition is consistent with a well below 2 degrees Celsius goal in line with the Paris Agreement.
Our decarbonisation journey is complemented by broader efforts to embed sustainability throughout our business. 2024 saw the publication of our comprehensive Sustainability Leadership Plan: setting out our ambitions across three pillars of Planet, Place and People, this will guide our actions in the years ahead.
Future-proofing our infrastructure
Ireland is already confronting the impact of rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns in the shape of increasingly frequent and destructive storms. To improve the resilience of the electricity network and deal with the effects of record storms and other climate-related weather events, we plan to further accelerate investment as we help underpin a future powered by clean electricity.
We acknowledge the impact of electricity supply disruption for many customers arising from Storm Éowyn in January 2025, as well as Storms Isha and Darragh during 2024. ESB Networks plan to further increase significant investment in asset maintenance and replacement, and to work with stakeholders to mitigate the risk posed to the network by trees and other factors which can lead to prolonged power outages for customers.
During 2024, ESB Networks and NIE Networks invested a total of €1.4 billion in network infrastructure across the island of Ireland. Capacity was upgraded and expanded, with ESB Networks connecting more than 37,000 homes and businesses during the year – supporting Ireland’s growing economy and population.
ESB Networks and NIE Networks had connected a total of 8.8 GW of renewables to their transmission and distribution networks by the end of 2024. Moreover, another 326,000 smart meters were installed throughout Ireland in 2024, bringing the total to over 1.9 million.
It was also a year of essential planning for investment to secure the resilience of our electricity networks to 2030 and beyond. ESB Networks submitted investment plans to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) for the period Price Review 6 (2026-2030), following broad engagement and consultation; while in Northern Ireland, the Utility Regulator’s Final Regulatory Period 7 Determination (RP7) sets out the scope and scale of NIE Networks’ programme for 2025-2031.
Energy security in a changing world
As we work to balance our net zero goals with the needs of a growing economy, energy security has come into ever sharper focus. Battery storage will be crucial as a backup for renewable energy sources, and 2024 saw two new battery facilities come on stream at South Wall in Dublin and Aghada in Co Cork. Further investments in energy security included the commissioning of three flexible aero-derivative engines in Dublin at Poolbeg, Ringsend and Corduff, and the provision of temporary emergency generation capacity at Shannonbridge in Co Offaly, as part of arrangements entered into with EirGrid.
Empowering customers and communities
Affordability remains a key concern for customers who have faced significant rises in the cost of living in recent years. Our electricity supply business Electric Ireland passed on three separate price reductions to residential customers in Ireland over the last 16 months and continually reviews its prices to ensure we are delivering best value to our customers. The Electric Ireland Hardship Fund has continued to provide additional support to customers in financial need. 2024 saw a relative stabilisation of energy prices after the extraordinary volatility in global energy markets experienced in 2022 and into 2023, although prices are still much higher than they were prior to the energy crisis of recent years.
Empowering customers and communities to live more sustainably is a core pillar of our path to net zero, and 2024 saw progress on multiple fronts. The number of ESB charging points grew to 1,600 on the island of Ireland and almost 800 in Great Britain, making low-carbon electric transport an easier option for ever more drivers. In addition, more than 500 homes were made more energy-efficient through deep retrofits carried out by Electric Ireland Superhomes, our joint venture with Tipperary Energy Agency.
We also continued our long-standing support to communities around the country throughout 2024, distributing more than €2 million through our Energy for Generations Fund and our community benefit funds. In total, we contributed over €3 billion to the Irish economy in 2024 in the form of payroll, taxes, dividends and purchases from domestic suppliers.
A strong foundation for future investment
Our progress over the year would not have been possible without the exceptional capabilities and dedication of our employees, who now number over 9,700. As a team, we are committed to delivering the changes needed to get Ireland to a net-zero energy future –and building the infrastructure that can support our growing economy while adapting to a changing climate. We plan to make capital investment of up to €13 billion over the next five years in support of the National Development and Climate Action Plans – and the strong financial performance delivered in 2024 provides a solid foundation for this essential work going forward.