Electric Ireland to cut prices by up to 5% for residential customers

The energy provider has revealed all Electric Ireland Smart Meter Plans unit rates will be reduced by 5%, with an annual decrease of between €64 and €75 for customers, depending on their plan.

Electric Ireland has announced further price cuts, reducing its rates by up to 5% for certain customers.

The announcement is the company’s third price reduction over the past 12 months for its 1.1 million residential customers and will come into effect from November 1, 2024.

The energy provider has revealed all Electric Ireland Smart Meter Plans unit rates will be reduced by 5%, with an annual decrease of between €64 and €75 for customers, depending on their plan.

All other residential customers will see their electricity and gas unit rates reduced by 3%, saving them an average of €45 on their annual electricity bill, and an average of €40 on their annual gas bills.

The company has also confirmed that it will not pass on increased network charges to its residential electricity customers, which are due to come into effect on October 1.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) recently announced that regulated network charges will increase by an average of €101 per annum for residential electricity customers.

Electric Ireland executive director Pat Fenlon said the announcement highlights the company’s “commitment to deliver value to our customers, while also supporting the transition to a more sustainable energy future”.

Electric Ireland’s three price decreases in November 2023, March 2024 and November 2024 will result in a total reduction of 19.3% in electricity prices and 20.4% in gas for its customers.

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This will deliver an annual saving of €376 and €337 on the average electricity and gas bills respectively, with a combined annual reduction of €713 for Electric Ireland’s dual fuel customers in the past 12-month period.

Daragh Cassidy from price comparison site Bonkers said that while "it’s nice to be talking about falling energy prices" Electric Ireland’s "electricity prices still remain over 80% above where they were in early 2021 before supply shocks due to covid and then the war in Ukraine wreaked havoc with energy prices".

"And its gas prices are over double pre-war levels. This means customers of Electric Ireland will still be paying well over €1,000 a year more for their gas and electricity than they were only a few years ago."

"Wholesale gas and electricity prices are still just over double pre-[Ukraine] war levels. This is where they seem to be settling. So we may need to get used to paying much higher prices for our energy going forward."