Irish wholesale gas prices down 13% compared to last year

Irish wholesale gas prices fell by 2 per cent in October compared to the previous month and are down by 13 per cent on an annual basis.

The sharp decline in prices is largely due to an oversupply of liquefied natural gas, coupled with increased North Sea exports, which are now close to three-year highs.

According to the latest Wholesale Energy Market report from Vayu Energy, the average day-ahead price for gas is 1.87 cents per kilowatt hour (c/kWh) for October, as against 2.16 c/kWh for the same month a year earlier.

The report shows the average wholesale price of electricity in the Irish market is 5.18 c/kWh – down 17 per cent compared with October 2014. However, wholesale electricity prices are up 6 per cent versus the previous month - largely as a result of a lower contribution by renewable energy sources such as wind.

Total wind generation capacity in Ireland currently stands at 3,025 megawatts (MW).

Wind energy has accounted for 10 per cent of overall electricity generation in Ireland so far during October, reaching a peak of 2,088 MW on October 21st when it accounted for 42 per cent of demand at the time.

Some 22,944 gigawatt hours (GWh) of wind energy has been generated in Ireland since the start of the year, representing 21 per cent of total electricity demand for the country during this period.