National Grid’s profits rise to £3.4bn as cost of living crisis pushes bills higher

Energy network operator National Grid has reported its annual pre-tax profits have jumped 16 per cent to £3.1bn.

The company, which maintains and invests in infrastructure rather than distributing energy, said statutory pre-tax profits were up even higher, rising 107 per cent in the year to the end of March.

However, it said much of the increase stemmed from National Grid’s £7.8bn purchase of Western Power Distribution (WPD). Earlier this month, WPD was fined £15m after its support for vulnerable customers during power cuts was deemed “totally unacceptable”.