ELECTRIC IRELAND HAS announced plans to increase residential electricity and gas prices from 1 July, citing the increase in wholesale costs brought about by the US-Israeli war against Iran as the reason for the rise.

The average electricity bill will increase by 8% and the average gas bill will go up by 7.7%, the utility company said.

The increase will add around €138 a year to the average household’s electricity bill and €117 to the average gas bill, according to Bonkers.ie, which also noted that Ireland already has the highest electricity costs in the European Union (almost 40% above average). 

The US-Israeli war against Iran has led to the effective closure of the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. The closure has led to fuel shortages around the world.

Negotiations between Iran and the United States have been ongoing since a ceasefire agreement was reached in early April, but fighting has resumed this week.

The move announced by Electric Ireland today will impact around 1.1 million electricity customers and 145,000 gas customers.
Bonkers.ie is encouraging people struggling with high energy costs to consider switching supplier to avail of cheaper rates. They are also being encouraged to check if they qualify for government supports like the Fuel Allowance or the Free Electricity Allowance.

Pat Fenlon, Electric Ireland’s executive director said:

“The conflict in the Middle East continues to drive volatility in wholesale energy costs which have increased significantly.

“The current change represents the first price increase since October 2022; unfortunately, we cannot delay this increase any further due to the sustained upward price pressure on our wholesale energy costs.”

Saying Electric Ireland understands that people are facing “challenges” with the current cost of living crisis, and that the company “remains committed to providing competitive value to our customers”.

Fenlon said the company is providing supports for people struggling to pay their bills, “including access to Electric Ireland’s Compassionate Assistance fund, flexible payment options, and energy efficiency advice to help customers better manage their bills”. 

Darragh Cassidy of Bonkers.ie said that today’s announcement was expected that he was “surprised it didn’t come a bit sooner to be honest”.

“Last autumn, most of the major energy suppliers increased their electricity prices by between 10% and 15% due to sustained high wholesale electricity costs and higher network charges for maintaining the electricity grid,” he said.

“But Electric Ireland instead announced an electricity ‘price freeze’ for the winter months, alongside a small cut in gas prices.

“So this increase effectively brings its electricity prices back into line with the rest of the market.” 

Cassidy said that today’s announcement “will understandably worry households”, but that “it’s not necessarily the start of another widespread round of electricity price hikes across the market”.

The Green Party’s finance spokesperson, Dublin City councillor Michael Pidgeon, said that energy independence is key to protecting people from a situation where bills continue to rise when wages stay the same.

“We need to get off this stuff. Ireland has hitched its wagon to the fossil fuel industry for too long, and Irish families are paying the price,” he said.

“Every conflict, every tanker route disrupted, every OPEC decision — we feel it at the meter. The last three years have shown us the inescapable reality of fossil fuel addiction.”

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the price hikes “will be a body blow for working households already struggling to get by”.

“It’s a hike they simply cannot afford,” she said.

“For weeks we called on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to introduce an emergency cost of living budget with energy credits to help households with these rip-off prices. They ignored us.”