Wholesale electricity prices down over 20% in December while food prices rise

However, food producer prices increased once again, particularly dairy prices

Electricity prices have fallen by 72% when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022.

Wholesale electricity prices were down over 20% during December compared to the same period last year, but still remain “around double” what they were before the war in Ukraine spiked prices.

New data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that prices fell by 11.7% compared to November and by 20.9% compared to December 2024. Prices have fallen by 72% when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022.

However, while energy prices were down in December, the average wholesale price of electricity over the course of the year was 5.5% higher than in 2024.

Daragh Cassidy of price comparison website Bonkers.ie said that although electricity prices are down from their peak in August 2022, they are still “around double the level they were at before the war in Ukraine”.

"Looking forward, the outlook for electricity prices for households is mixed. On the one hand, wholesale gas prices have eased over the past year. We use gas to generate around 40% to 50% of our electricity so its price has a big impact on the price we pay for our electricity.

"On the other hand, there are other cost pressures on electricity bills,” he said, adding that wholesale costs only make up a third of the total price that households pay for their electricity. 

The rest is largely covered by opaque fees and charges related to the management of the grid and these costs are continuing to increase, it would appear. 

Mr Cassidy said a growing population, data centre demand, and the increased electrification of the economy will also continue to put “upward pressure” on the demand for electricity in Ireland so there’ll be “no return to the prices we saw before the war in Ukraine”.

He also called for transparency on why electricity prices remain so high.

Coming into the winter months a number of electricity providers — including Bord Gáis Energy, Flogas, SSE Airtricity, Pinergy and Energia — opted to raise their prices on consumers.

Food prices

The CSO data also showed that producer prices for food products increased by 1.7% in the year to the end of December with dairy products seeing a significant rise of 11.1%, while the price of fish products grew 5.1%, and meat products went up 3.8%.

The largest food price decline was seen in vegetables and animal oils and fats, down 16.2%.

Grocery prices have been steadily increasing over the year with the latest inflation figures in this area showing a 6.25% increase during December compared to the same period in 2024.

Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were up 0.8% year-on-year, while producer prices for exported goods were down by 7.2%. 

Producer prices

Overall, manufacturing producer prices were 6.4% lower in the year to December. 

The annual average of the overall producer price index for manufacturing industries for 2025 was down 2.9% on the annual average for 2024.

The largest increase was in the producer prices of chemicals and chemical products, up 30.8% while the largest decrease was seen in beverages down 3.3%.

Wholesale prices for construction products rose by 0.9% in the 12 months since December 2024.