Airtricity drops domestic electricity prices further

The State’s power struggle intensified yesterday when Airticity, the third player in the domestic electricity market, introduced rates which are 13 per cent lower than the ESB and three per cent less than the basic price offered by Bord Gais Energy.

Prior to yesterday’s announcement, Airtricity had been offering electricity to new customers for ten per cent less than the ESB, the same discount being given by Bord Gais Energy.

Now, however, it is the cheapest stand-alone electricity provider on the market, although existing Bord Gais customers who pay by direct debit can save themselves a total of 14 per cent when compared with ESB’s prices.

“There is an appetite for switching amongst Irish consumers in the current climate," Kevin Greenhorn, managing director, of Airtricity Supply said, around 5,000 people have signed up with the company in recent weeks.

Regulations governing ESB’s pricing prohibit it from lowering its prices in response to Airtricity or Bord Gais Energy’s newly announced rates, but the Commission for Energy Regulation is set approve substantial price reductions from the ESB within the next two weeks after which the unit price of its electricity expected to fall by at least 10 per cent.

Mr Greenhorn said the company would maintain its discounts “irrespective of what the ESB does” in the coming weeks.

A Bord Gais Energy spokeswoman told The Irish Times that the company had anticipated such a response from Airtricity but said it would not be lowering its prices further to match the new rates announced by its rival. “They are as they are,” she said.

While Airtricity accepts that price will be the main factor in driving new business, it is hoping its green credentials will encourage some people to go with it. The company uses renewable resources to generate much of its own power and specialises in the development of onshore and offshore wind farms in Ireland, the UK, Europe and Asia.

Mr Greenhorn accepted that the company, which has supplied electricity to businesses for nearly ten years and has 45,000 Irish customers, had not experienced anything like the same level of take-up as that enjoyed by Bord Gais, which is getting around 3,000 new sign-ups each day, something he attributed to not having the “deep pockets and brand recognition” that the semi-state companies have.