Bord Gais price hike will push bills up by €380
The company said it was looking for the increase to cope with the cost of buying gas on the wholesale market.
It said the cost of buying gas has doubled in the last 14 months.
If the price rise is approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation, the average gas bill will rise by nearly €380 more a year, bringing the average annual bill to €1,325 a year.
Gas prices have risen for the last three years, though Bord Gais said prices are amongst the lowest in Europe and natural gas was the cheapest way of heating a home.
There was angry reaction to the proposed increase from opposition parties and representative groups of the elderly.
Fine Gael’s natural resources spokesman Bernard Durkan said the rise in international gas prices does not warrant anything like the increase being sought by Bord Gais.
“Furthermore, any doubts about future gas supplies are best addressed by the Government ensuring the early availability of gas supplies from the Corrib Gas Field.
“Such supplies could and would have been available by now, were it not for this Government’s ham-fisted handling of the issue, which is still not resolved.”
Age Action Ireland spokesman Paul Murray said elderly people will be hardest hit by the increase.
“This is a serious imposition on people who are not eligible yet for any fuel allowance. We think an increase of this size will add to fuel poverty, with many people spending an undue amount just to heat their house. This is a serious issue for vulnerable groups.”
Bord Gais chief executive Gerry Walsh said the company would not profit from the increase. Profits at the State-owned firm fell nearly 10% in 2005 to €108 million, despite a price rise of 25% in October.
“This is not us looking for a price increase in order to get more profit. All we are trying to do is to recover the cost of the wholesale gas in the market,” Mr Walsh said.
He added that Bord Gais cannot dictate the price it pays for gas on the international market, though he hoped that if the Corrib field came on stream soon, the company would not be as dependent on importing fuel supplies.
Ireland is becoming increasing reliant on foreign sources of energy. New figures from Sustainable Energy Ireland show that 90% of total energy supplies are now imported.
The Commissioner for Energy Regulation is set to decide on the price increase in July and it will come into effect in October.
