Quarter of Irish household gas bills in arrears last April

The average owed on electricity was €454.97, while it was €239.84 for gas customers in arrears last April. File Picture: Danny Lawson/PA

Irish households are collectively almost €150m in debt on their energy bills, new figures have revealed, owing an average of over €450 on their electricity and nearly €240 on gas.

It comes as the Society of St Vincent de Paul charity said it was receiving a high number of calls from people seeking help paying their energy bills as consumers were warned they could face a tax hike on their bills. 

There are also concerns that the Government may not include energy credits in the upcoming budget as it has in previous years, potentially adding even further pressure to struggling householders.

In a change from its approach to publishing details on the level of arrears Irish households are facing, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities has included the value of such debts in their figures for the first time.

It shows that in the first quarter of 2024, Irish households were €105.85m in arrears on electricity bills and €41.48m in arrears on their gas bills.

The average owed on electricity was €454.97, while it was €239.84 for gas customers in arrears.

The figures show that the amount owed by customers in arrears has risen steadily in recent years, in the wake of the surge in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In the last three months of 2019, households collectively owed €53m on their energy bills. This then peaked at €111m in the third quarter of 2023.

The figures also reveal that 25% of households were in arrears on their gas bills, the highest proportion ever reported by CRU in its figures.

This translates to almost 170,000 households in arrears in April.

There were 237,758 households in arrears on their electricity bills in the same month.

In terms of disconnections for non-payment, CRU said that 334 households were disconnected from their electricity and 580 from their gas across February, March, and April of this year.

Numbers in arrears 'concerning'

Daragh Cassidy, head of communications at Bonkers.ie, said it was unsurprising to see an uptick in those in arrears on their electricity bills, given the expiry of the Government’s energy credits.

“It’s important that suppliers work with customers to ensure these numbers don’t continue to creep higher," he said.

“[The number of people] in arrears on their gas still remain close to a record high, which is concerning, as you would expect to see this number drop significantly during the summer months.” 

St Vincent de Paul, meanwhile, said that the Government must provide support to families on energy bills as calls for help in this area have risen 68% in just two years.

It called for an increase to the weekly rate of the fuel allowance and an expansion of the allowance to families in receipt of the working family payment (WFP) to support over 100,000 children at risk of energy poverty.

Mr Cassidy added it was likely that energy companies would engage in another round of price cuts in the coming weeks that could be in the region of 10%-20%.

“However, I would call on the Government to keep the reduced rate of Vat on energy bills at 9% in this October’s budget," he said. 

"Energy prices are still high and so are the numbers of those in arrears. Now is not the time for the Government to add to households’ heating and lighting costs.”