Tumble in wholesale electricity prices sharpens focus on elevated consumer bills

Economist Jim Power said: 'When global prices went up, they were passed on quite quickly'

The Central Statistics Office's consumer price index published earlier this month showed that consumer prices for electricity, although easing in July from June, were still almost 32% higher than July 2022. 

Wholesale electricity prices fell last month at their sharpest rate since before the invasion of Ukraine, re-fuelling the debate about whether households and businesses are being short-changed.

The Central Statistics Office said its index that tracks wholesale prices across the whole economy fell by 5.2% in July from the same month last year, marking the largest fall in annual wholesale inflation for over two years.