Electric Ireland has announced a surprise gas price decrease of 4 per cent and committed to keeping its electricity prices at their current levels ahead of the winter months.
The pricing move comes less than 24 hours after Energia, one of its key rivals in the domestic market, rolled out electricity price increases of up to 12 per cent which will cost many households more than €200 a year.
The move is likely to put pressure on other providers to keep their prices steady despite facing higher charges to maintain the national grid.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning Electric Ireland said it was “committed to providing ongoing value to its customers” and said the 4 per cent cut in its gas unit rates and standing charges from November first will amount to a saving of €57.56 saving per annum on the average gas bill.
It is Electric Ireland’s fourth consecutive decrease for residential gas customers since November 2023, with the cumulative reduction amounting to almost 25 per cent or €390 over the course of a year.
The company stressed that its residential electricity unit rates and standing charges will remain unchanged.
Over the last two years, the company’s residential electricity unit rates have fallen by 20 per cent, amounting to annual savings of around €376 for customers
The move is in contrast to the announcement from Energia that it was increasing its electricity prices by up to 12 per cent from October.
It said the hikes were “now unavoidable” as a result of ongoing, substantial increases in electricity system operator and network charges.
It said the regulatory approved non-energy charges, which are applied to electricity suppliers, “are required to recover the costs of ensuring security of supply, addressing network constraints and investing in the electricity grid”. It added that the “expenditure is needed to ensure reliability, efficiency and decarbonisation of the electricity supply in Ireland”.
Energia electricity customers will see a 10.9 per cent increase to the average annual bill, which equates to €3.94 per week.
Its dual fuel customers will see a 6 per cent increase to the average annual bill, which equates to €3.92 per week.
Customers on Energia’s Smart Meter electricity plan will see a 12.1 per cent increase to the average annual bill which equates to €3.73 per week while those on Smart Meter dual fuel plans customers will see a 6.2 per cent increase to the average annual bill which equates to €3.71 per week.