Bord Gáis Energy customers are facing electricity price hikes of more than €200 a year after the company became the second provider to announce increases in less than a week.
Unit rates for electricity will increase by 13.5 per cent while the standing charges will rise by 12 per cent from October 12th.
It will increase a typical bill for Bord Gáis Energy electricity customers by an average of €18.16 per month which amounts to €218 a year.
The company said the price rise was in response to continued increases in network costs, the impact of wholesale energy markets and the higher cost of doing business.
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Prices for Bord Gáis Energy’s 270,000 gas customers remain unchanged.
“We always work hard to provide the best value for our customers. This is our first price increase in three years and, in that time, we had two price reductions across gas and electricity,” said company spokeswoman, Catherine Lonergan.
“We also absorbed network charges in 2024, saving households an average of €100 in electricity and €75 in gas.”
As a result of “continued increases in network charges, the higher cost of doing business and the impact of wholesale energy market pricing, we’re regrettably announcing a price increase for electricity customers”, she said.
Rival Pinergy also announced an increase on Friday to its standard residential electricity prices to kick in on October 13th.
It said the 10 per cent increase, which will add around €200 to a typical bill, was in response to a rise in external costs including electricity system operator and network charges as well as continuing volatility in wholesale energy costs.
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“Unfortunately, the increase of 34 per cent in electricity network charges over the last two years means that we will be increasing the costs of electricity to our residential customers next month, said company chief executive, Enda Gunnell.
“This is our first increase after three price decreases that we made over 2023 and into 2024. Last year, we absorbed increased network charges approved by the CRU [Commission for Regulation of Utilities]. The planned investment in the electricity grid and infrastructure is urgently required but we would call on the exchequer to also play its role in ensuring much needed price stability and minimising the financial burden on consumers,” Mr Gunnell said.
Earlier this week, Energia announced electricity price increases of up to 12 per cent, which will cost many households more than €200 a year.
The company said the increases were “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”.
Electric Ireland, by contrast, announced a surprise gas price decrease of 4 per cent and committed to keeping its electricity prices at their current levels in advance of the winter months.
