Energy arrears nearly double in four years for Irish households

The report says that, overall, 13% of electricity customers and 27% of gas customers are in arrears. Picture: Stuart Boulton/Stock

The amount owed by Irish households in arrears on gas and energy bills has almost doubled in four years, despite the €3.3bn government energy credit scheme paid out in recent years.

As of June 2025, electricity arrears of more than 90 days have increased by 24% when compared to June 2024. This indicates that most households in arrears are unable to clear their debts. Some 61% of all electricity arrears are now long-term.

An interim report by the Government's national energy affordability taskforce shows that a "significant portion of households remain in arrears, despite successive rounds of emergency electricity credits", which have seen 2.2m households given €1,500 to tackle the rising cost of energy in recent years.

The report says that, overall, 13% of electricity customers and 27% of gas customers are in arrears. It adds that the level of debt for domestic customers is €140m in electricity and €37m in gas, totalling €177m in domestic energy debt. In 2021, the total was around €90m.

The amount of individual arrears is rising, with the average domestic electricity account by €471. This is compared to €447 in June 2024. In the middle of 2021, this figure stood at €292.

The average domestic gas account in arrears was indebted by €207, compared to €222 in June 2024. Pre-crisis, this figure was €148.

War in Ukraine

The report says that much of the arrears issue correlates with the sharp rise in energy due to rising prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Energy credits saw arrears dipping temporarily.

"Monthly arrears data and intervention periods show temporary dips indicating that, without the credits, arrears would have stayed the same or worsened. In November 2023, there was a sharp spike in arrears driven by the effects of the war in Ukraine and arrears have not returned to pre-crisis levels since," the authors wrote.

The report notes that energy wholesale prices have stabilised and suggests a number of measures, including a renewed promotion of the benefits of tariff switching, demands for bill transparency, and "a targeted support to energy-intensive manufacturing sectors to preserve competitiveness and incentive for electrification".

Energy minister Darragh O'Brien said that more targeted measures are needed to protect households, adding that energy credits were not sustainable.

“We are moving away from universal measures like energy credits, which are not sustainable in the long run. Our focus now must be on those who need support most through targeted schemes, and on ensuring greater energy efficiency of our buildings."

However, Sinn Féin's Pa Daly said that the Government "should provide people €450 worth of energy credits for their electricity bills now, not merely announce that it will publish an energy affordability plan in 2026 with action to follow God knows when".

In recent weeks, a number of providers of electricity and gas have announced price increases — including Energia, Bord Gáis Energy, Pinergy, SSE Airtricity, and Flogas.

The report says that the market average estimated annual household electricity bill is expected to rise to around €1,877 from last month due to supplier price increases.