Electric Ireland Reduces Electricity And Gas Prices 3rd Time

State-owned Electric Ireland, a subsidiary of ESB, launched the third wave of rate reductions in electricity and gas prices which will be implemented from November.The company, which serves 1.1 million customers, is reducing its standard electricity and gas rates by 3% for residential users.

This reduction will lead to a saving of €45 per annum on electricity costs and €40 per annum on cost of gas. Further, Electric Ireland will not transfer the recent €101 rise in electricity network charges announced by the energy regulator to its consumers. Those consumers who opted for a smart metre will have electricity prices reduced by 5 percent.

However, these reductions will not be accompanied by a reduction in the standing charges of Electric Ireland. Some of the experts argue that although the company has taken a strategic step of bearing the burden of the additional network charges, this hampered the potential for additional slashing on the unit rates.

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This latest reduction follows two previous cuts: cuts of 8 per cent in electricity prices and 7 per cent in the price of gas in March. Pat Fenlon, then the Executive Director of Electric Ireland promised that the company’s duty is to ensure the delivery of value as it contributes to the evolution towards cleaner energy usage.

Electric Ireland’s dual-fuel customers will save an average of €85 per year on the basis of their EAB from the CRU.

The three successive reductions in the pump prices since the end of November 2022 suggest that there could be a total reduction of 19.3% in electricity prices and 20.4% in gas prices, amounting to annual savings of €376 on electricity and €337 on gas for dual-fuel customers—a total combined saving of €713.

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Daragh Cassidy of Bonkers.ie pointed out that the price cuts are well-timed especially as the cold seasons set in, though he noted that the cuts are a bit small. Cassidy further noted that the work that has been done to increase the grid and network charges for funding infrastructure and the move to achieving Net Zero, limits the possibility of cutting the prices significantly.

According to Cassidy, such increases might have prevented Electric Ireland from delivering more significant rate cuts.

Cassidy also pointed out that even with these cuts, electricity prices are still more than 80 percent higher than in early 2021 due to supply disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The price of gas is still more than twice what it was before the war and the households are paying over €1,000 more per year than before. He also raised doubts about the prospects of additional sizable declines in household energy costs in the near- to mid-term, based on the trends observed in wholesale energy markets.

Electric Ireland is currently Ireland’s largest electricity service provider company and it also has to cope up with the fluctuations in the energy sector while also trying to provide some sort of respite to its customers.

The company continues to stress on its commitment to remain a low cost provider and shield consumers from increased regulatory pressure as well as structural market forces, thereby asserting its position in Ireland’s maturing energy market.