Airtricity customers to see 10% cut in bills from July

Eligible gas customers will see annual savings of around €104.79, while electricity customers will see a price decrease of up to €149.24 annually based on an estimated annual bill.

More than 250,000 of SSE Airtricity’s electricity customers and 90,000 of its gas customers will see their bills cut by 10% from July.

Eligible gas customers will see annual savings of around €104.79, while electricity customers will see a price decrease of up to €149.24 annually based on an estimated annual bill.

The energy giant's price reductions will come into effect from July 1.

While price comparison site bonkers.ie welcomed the cuts, it said prices are still around 70% higher than they were three years ago.

“They have a long way to go and, unfortunately, there is a good chance that they will never return to what they were,” Daragh Cassidy, of bonkers.ie, said.

The decrease will automatically apply to all customers on a variable tariff but, according to bonkers.ie, those on fixed-rate tariffs will see no change.

SSE Airtricity last reduced its prices in February when it cut its electricity prices by 12.8% and its gas prices by 11.5%.

Combined with a reduction last November, the energy firm has slashed bills by around 34%

Cumulatively, customers on direct debit and e-billing dual fuel smart-saver standard tariffs will benefit from total savings of €998.64 on their estimated annual bill, following price decreases in February 2024 and November 2023.

The announcement will see a 10% decrease in the standard unit rate for electricity and a 10% decrease in the standard unit rate for gas.

A company spokesperson said: “SSE Airtricity has a longstanding and continued commitment to working with and supporting its customers, and continues to diversify and extend its product offering to meet the differing needs of its customers.

"These include home energy efficiency upgrades and demand-side management options."

SSE Airtricity managing director Klair Neenan said: “We remain committed to passing on reductions as soon as it is possible to do so."

Bonkers.ie’s Mr Cassidy said: “This is obviously welcome news, and comes at a time when many households are still struggling with cost-of-living pressures and high energy costs.

“Nevertheless, despite the latest price drop, SSE’s electricity prices are still around 70% higher than they were before the energy crisis broke out while its gas prices remain around 80% higher.

This means households will still be paying around €1,000 a year more for their gas and electricity than they were only a few years ago.

He added: “Looking forward, given where wholesale gas and electricity prices seem to be settling, it’s tough to see prices for households falling much further in the short to medium term at least. Hopefully, we might see a similar sized price cut in the early part of next year.

“However, we may need to get used to paying much higher prices for our energy going forward.”

In a trading update published in November, SSE’s Irish arm, SSE Airtricity posted €1.02bn in revenue — up annually from €855m — with the supplier’s customer base rising marginally in the year by 10,000 to 740,000.