DOMESTIC GAS and electricity prices are expected to fall within months after a review of tariffs and increased competition in the energy market.
Both ESB and Bord Gáis say they expect the energy regulator to make a decision soon on whether to reduce prices because of the fall of oil and gas prices on international markets.
Meanwhile, Bord Gáis will next week announce its entry into the retail electricity market in competition with the ESB.
Bord Gáis is expected to undercut its rival’s tariffs by up to 10 per cent in an attempt to win market share. Its entry into the market was welcomed yesterday by the Consumers’ Association of Ireland, which said it would offer consumers much needed choice at a critical time.
However, chief executive Dermott Jewell cautioned that householders should look beyond price to ensure the quality of their service “is as it should be”.
Customers wishing to switch providers to Bord Gáis will be able to do so by telephone or through the internet, with no change of meter or installation work required.
The ESB currently supplies electricity to 1.9 million households while Bord Gáis provides gas to 600,000 domestic customers.
The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is carrying out the review of energy prices at the request of Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan, said a decision would be made in the next couple of weeks but this could be subject to further consultation.
A spokesman also said the 3.5 per cent pay increase recently announced for ESB staff would not be funded by consumers but would have to come from “somewhere else”.
Fine Gael energy spokesman Simon Coveney accused Mr Ryan of failing to prioritise energy price issues and said this was damaging the economy and punishing households when they could least afford it.