Families hit with €9 extra per month as Electric Ireland increases prices

Families face paying €9 extra a month for energy in coming weeks when State-owned Electric Ireland will boost household prices.

Rising wholesale prices have sparked a series of energy price increases for households in recent months.

On Friday, Electric Ireland said that, from November 1st, it would boost residential electricity prices by 9.3 per cent, adding €9.02 a month to the average bill, while it intends adding 7 per cent, or an average of €4.85 a month, to household gas charges.

Electric Ireland executive director Marguerite Sayers said the move was needed to "offset the unprecedented rise in wholesale energy costs this year".

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Rising costs of natural gas – required to generate more than half Irish electricity needs – and supply squeezes have pushed up wholesale energy prices this year.

Electric Ireland is part of State energy group the ESB, which generates electricity as well as supplying both it and gas to homes and businesses.

“We appreciate that energy price increases combined with other bills may put some households under financial pressure as we move into the colder winter months,” said Ms Sayers.

She added that families facing difficulties with their energy bills should contact the company, charity St Vincent de Paul or the Money Advice and Budgeting Service. Electric Ireland works with both organisations, she noted.

Electric Ireland last increased its prices in August, when it upped the price of its electricity by 9 per cent and its gas by 7.8 per cent.

The latest increase will add about €108 a year to the average household’s annual electricity bill and €58 to the average annual gas bill, while a dual-fuel customer will pay more than €300 more to heat and light their homes over the next year when compared with the previous 12 months.

There have been more than 30 price-hike announcements from Irish energy suppliers since the start of the year. And some suppliers have raised prices several times.

Price increases

Daragh Cassidy of utility and switching website bonkers.ie said the increase was expected “given all the recent price increases that we’ve seen”.

He noted that some suppliers have announced price hikes that will add up to €800 a year to energy bills and so Electric Ireland’s price increases are at the lower end of the scale.

“Still, as we move into the darker and colder months when energy demand around the home typically soars, many households will feel the pinch.”

Mr Cassidy said “a lot of our electricity is still generated from burning coal and gas in particular. The price of these fossil fuels collapsed at the height of the pandemic but gas in particular has increased hugely in recent months as the world economy opens back up.”

He also pointed to Covid-related supply-chain bottlenecks which have “created a mismatch between supply and demand in several industries, putting pressure on prices. and the energy market has been particularly hard hit”.

“To make things worse, two large power plants have been out of action for maintenance reasons over the past year or so: the Whitegate plant in Cork and the Huntstown plant in Dublin,” he said.

“Together these usually supply around 15 per cent or more of our electricity. Finally, the level of wind output has been lower than usual too.”

Households looking to offset the price increases are being advised that the quickest and easiest way to save money on their energy bills is to compare prices and switch to a cheaper supplier.

“Despite the rising prices, there is still huge competition among the 14 energy suppliers in Ireland for new customers right now and they’re all offering huge discounts to those who switch. For example, the average switcher could save around €500 a year just by changing supplier, which would help offset the price hikes,” Mr Cassidy said.