Thousands of households in arrears on energy bills after ending of Government support

There were 400,000 energy accounts in arrears across the country at the end of May, as the Government's electricity credits were coming to an end, energy regulator said. 

Thousands of households are in arrears on their energy bills, with the number of accounts falling behind rising 10% in just three months, new figures show. 

Figures provided by energy regulator CRU to the Oireachtas environment committee show there were 240,791 households in arrears on their electricity bills in May, up from 211,855 in February. Similarly, the number of households in gas arrears rose from 152,276 in February to 165,206 in May. 

An additional 23,453 domestic electricity and 1,137 domestic gas customers fell into arrears between April and May alone.

It means there were 400,000 energy accounts in arrears across the country at the end of May, as the Government's electricity credits were coming to an end. 

Separately, CRU also said 137 households had their electricity cut off and 196 had their gas cut off for non-payment reasons in May, following the lifting of the disconnection moratorium over the winter months. 

It comes as energy prices remain high despite the significant fall in the price of wholesale electricity in recent months. Analysts suggest customers will not start to see falls in their sky-high energy bills until later this year.

This week, the Dáil heard an 82-year-old man was in “huge distress” and “absolutely terrified to put on the heat” after receiving an electricity bill of €939 for his one-bedroom flat.

In a letter to the committee, CRU’s director of customer policy and protection Karen Trant said its latest data shows an increase in the number of both electricity and gas customers who are in arrears since the last update.

“[It] coincides with the last of the Government Emergency Electricity Credits worth €183.49 each being applied to customers’ accounts,” she said.

In a slew of pre- budget submissions in recent weeks, charities have argued the one-off supports like the electricity credits were welcome and helped to keep families afloat, but their temporary nature means families will still face difficulty heading into next winter.

Ms Trant said the rise in disconnections was “as expected due to the lifting of the moratorium for non-payment of account reasons”.

She said: “There were 153 domestic electricity and 215 domestic gas customers disconnected by the end of May. At the same stage of 2022, 516 domestic electricity and 228 domestic gas customers had been disconnected.” 

Sinn Féin’s environment spokesperson Darren O’Rourke said: “The reality is that energy costs have more than doubled in the last two years.

“For example, a bill of €600 would have been unusual previously whereas now it's become a common occurrence. This is leading to insurmountable, unsustainable levels of debt for people that they simply cannot overcome.” 

Mr O’Rourke added the Government must get to grips with this “deteriorating situation urgently”.