Electric Ireland to raise electricity by €300 and gas prices by €220 a year
The increase will equate to €24.80 per month on the average residential electricity bill and €18.35 per month on the average residential gas bill, based on the estimated annual bill as defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.
Electric Ireland has announced a hike in energy bills, with the average electricity bill set to rise by almost €300 a year and the average gas bill to rise by €220 a year.
The 23.4% rise in electricity prices and 24.8% rise in gas prices will take effect from May 1, 2022, the company said.
It said: “The increase will equate to €24.80 per month on the average residential electricity bill and €18.35 per month on the average residential gas bill, based on the estimated annual bill as defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).”
The rise from Electric Ireland comes in the wake of the significant price hikes announced by Bord Gáis earlier this month.
Marguerite Sayers, the executive director at Electric Ireland, said that the company had delayed the increase “as long as we could in the hope that wholesale prices would drop back to early 2021 levels, but regrettably this has not happened”.
“We are acutely aware that the rising cost of living is causing difficulty for households across the country,” she said.
“Unfortunately, the unprecedented and sustained volatility of wholesale gas prices over the last 12 months means that we now need to increase our prices.”
Ms Sayers said that international gas prices are beyond their control and have a huge impact on costs. She encouraged customers who have difficulty paying their bills to engage with them to work out a manageable payment plan.
Electric Ireland said it can offer customers in difficulty flexible payment plans, payment holidays, pay-as-you-go metres, as well as support from the likes of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs) and the Society of St Vincent de Paul.
All electricity account holders in the country are set to receive €200 off their bills on foot of a Government scheme to help with the cost of living in the coming weeks.
The latest hike in prices will hit customers who already faced numerous price hikes from their suppliers throughout 2021.
Following the Bord Gáis hike earlier this month, Daragh Cassidy from Bonkers.ie said: “This comes on the back of price hikes that have added around €540 to customers’ gas and electricity bills since the autumn of 2020.”
