Gas and electricity supplier Iberdrola to exit Irish market

The Spanish energy supplier said that market conditions and pricing were posing obstacles to the planned commercial growth of the firm

The company said the decision to leave the Irish market had come following the completion of an internal strategic review.

Iberdrola will make a "controlled exit" from Ireland's electricity and gas market, the Spanish firm announced today.

The company said the decision to leave the Irish market had come following the completion of an internal strategic review. It noted that market conditions and pricing were posing obstacles to the planned commercial growth of the firm.

Iberdrola also stated that the unprecedented increase in global wholesale energy costs had further exacerbated challenges for the company.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has been formally notified and requested to begin the automatic transition of Iberdrola customers’ accounts to the regulator’s specified suppliers. 

The regulator has designated suppliers which come into effect upon a firm's exit from the energy market. These are Bord Gáis Energy for gas, and Electric Ireland for electricity.

Bord Gáis Energy confirmed that gas customers of Iberdrola would not experience any disruption to their gas supply. This is following today's announcement that the Iberdrola would be exiting the Irish market. 

Bord Gáis Energy noted that gas customers of Iberdrola do not need to take any immediate action as the transfer to Bord Gáis Energy will occur automatically.

Iberdrola first entered the Irish market in 2019 and is estimated to have approximately 35,000 customers in Ireland.

The company said its investment in Ireland’s renewable energy future is unaffected by the retail business’ decision to exit from the market. This includes plans to develop 3 gigawatt of offshore wind, in partnership with DP Energy, as well as the completion of battery energy storage system projects.

A spokesperson for Iberdrola’s retail business in Ireland said: “Despite our best efforts, it’s become increasingly clear that the dynamics and pricing within the Irish energy supply market mean we will not be able to achieve what we want for our retail business in Ireland.

“Without the ability to achieve long-term customer growth on both a competitive and commercial basis, we’ve made the difficult decision to leave the supply market in a controlled, responsible and appropriate manner, with minimum impact on our customers.

“We’ll be working closely with the CRU, Gas Point Registration Operator and Meter Registration System Operator to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for our customers and we thank each and every one of them for their support over the last three years," the spokesperson continued.

Daragh Cassidy, head of communications at Bonkers.ie, said: "Iberdrola is the second supplier to exit the Irish market in recent months, following Bright’s exit at the start of the year. Another energy supplier, Glowpower, stopped taking on new customers several months ago and its future in Ireland remains highly uncertain."

Cassidy added that further exits from the Irish energy market cannot be ruled out.