THE €200 ELECTRICITY rebate should appear on customer bills “from next month” after legislation providing for the benefit was signed on Friday. 

Last month, the government announced an a range of measures to help mitigate against the rising cost of living. 

The central plank of this package was an electricity credit scheme that will see a credit of €176 (ex VAT) added to all bills. It’s estimated that 2.25 million electricity accounts will benefit from the scheme. 

A new law was required to activate the scheme and the government has said this was “fast-tracked” by both Office of the Attorney General and the Oireachtas before the signature by President Higgins. 

The rebate should therefore be applied on bills from next month (April) and continue over the following month. 

Having considered the Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures Bill 2022, the President has signed the Bill and it has accordingly become law.

— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) March 4, 2022

Prepay meters

The once-off credit will be automatically applied to all electricity customer accounts, so most people won’t have to do anything to avail of it. People who use prepay cards will see their cards credited with €200. 

However, the government is now providing advice to customers who hardship prepay meters because these meters have a €300 credit limit. 

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In these cases, the credit will be applied over the course of three separate top-ups or vends. The advice for customers is that when they top up by €10 on their next two top ups an extra credit of €90 will be applied each time, with a €20 extra credit applied on a third €10 top up. 

Customers will be advised only to pay €10 on each occasion to receive their credit, and to allow one day between each payment. 

For people who pay their electricity bill through rent, the government has said that there is an expectation that “landlords will pass on the credit to their tenants”. 

The Department of the Environment has said that in the event of a dispute arising, “tenants and landlords are encouraged to try and resolve the matter together first, by keeping lines of communication open.”

“In the event that the dispute cannot be resolved between the parties, the matter may be referred to the RTB’s free mediation service, where an independent mediator helps both parties to come up with a solution that is mutually beneficial.”