SSE Airtricity customers to get €35 credit as it forgoes profit

SSE Airtricity will give all its domestic customers in the Republic a €35 household credit against their bills, confirming that it will “forgo” €8.6 million of its profits for its 2023 financial year.

The energy company, which has seen its revenues from renewables contracts surge as a consequence of higher commodity prices in recent months, generated operating profits of more €17 million in the first six months of its 2023 financial year, according to a November trading statement.

The British-owned company said at the time that it would look to prioritise support programmes for its most financially vulnerable customers and forgo profits for the financial year.

SSE has now confirmed that a new €35 credit will be automatically applied to more than 247,000 household accounts from Thursday. Customers do not need to contact the company to avail of the credit, it said in a statement.

The energy company said that in addition to the arrangement, which will return €8.5 million to customers, it has already pursued a number of support schemes, including a price promise that held energy costs at June 2022 levels until the end of winter for financially vulnerable customers.

It has also made a €1 million donation to St Vincent de Paul to support households in need of financial assistance and a €2.5 million donation to EnergyCloud Ireland, to help people suffering from energy poverty.

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“The €35 we are giving back today represents all of the profit we made as an energy supplier returned on customers’ bills; this means we have provided energy to customers during this difficult time ‘at cost’,” said Nikki Flanders, managing director of SSE Energy Customer Solutions.

“Any customer who is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their energy costs should contact us in confidence and we will do our best to support them.”

SSE’s British parent, SSE Plc, raised its profit outlook for its full financial year, which concluded in March. It now expects adjusted earnings per share of more than 150 pence for fiscal year 2023 ending March 31st, up from the previous outlook of at least 120 pence.

SSE now owns and operates 28 onshore wind farms totalling 890MW across Ireland with further wind farm projects planned in Co Wicklow and Co Donegal.