Wholesale electricity prices down over 70% since immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Wholesale electricity prices have fallen by more than 70 per cent since the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.

Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show that while wholesale electricity prices rose by 2.4 per cent month-on-month in March this year they were 40.3 per cent lower than March last year and 70.4 per cent lower than March 2022.

Energy prices, which had increased significantly in the wake of Covid, spiked after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, reaching a peak in August that year. Wholesale electricity prices rose by 195 per cent between August 2021 and August 2022, with the wholesale price of electricity peaking at almost €400 per MWh (Megawatt Hour) versus an average of about €38 per MWh in 2020.

The faster-than-expected softening of headline inflation in Ireland and across the euro zone has been driven by falling energy prices. The Republic’s headline rate of inflation, as measured by the CSO’s consumer price index, fell to 2.9 per cent in March.

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Electric Ireland, the State’s largest energy supplier, cut its domestic electricity and gas prices by 8 per cent and 7 per cent in March in response to falling wholesale prices.

The CSO’s report indicated producer prices for food products were unchanged in March but dropped by 9.1 per cent year-on-year.

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Within the food category, fish and fish products were up 7.1 per cent over the 12 months to March, while dairy products were down (-23.7 per cent).

Several other food categories showed notable changes in March when compared with the same month in 2023, including other food products (-11.5 per cent), grain milling, starches and animal feeds (-6.8 per cent), vegetable and animal oils and fats (-6 per cent).

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