IF YOU PAY an electricity bill, you might have noticed that your supplier has increased its prices this year.

Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy and Airtricity have all announced price increases lately.

This means higher bills for customers, and all of the companies said the new prices were due to increases in wholesale energy costs.

Energy prices in Ireland and across Europe have been rising in recent months due to a surge in demand as economies have reopened while the energy stocks have been depleted following last year’s harsh winter.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach said that next month’s Budget will even include measures to protect the most vulnerable people against energy price hikes. He put the spike in costs down to inflation, and said that the government is “concerned about energy prices”.

The latest news might have convinced you to swap providers – or maybe you’ve already done so.

What about you: Have you changed energy supplier in the past year?