Electricity still cheap despite rises

ELECTRICITY costs for Irish consumers will remain among the cheapest in Europe, despite large increases in the average ESB bill from next month.

Latest figures from the EU statistical office, Eurostat, show Ireland has the third cheapest electricity rates of the 15 EU states.

In contrast, electricity costs for business and industrial users will stay among the highest in the EU despite growing deregulation Although, the average ESB bill for domestic users is set to increase by 13.25% next month, Irish electricity prices will still remain below the EU average.