ENERGY BILLS TO SOAR AGAIN
Families are facing a winter of costlier electricity after a FOURTH supplier yesterday announced it would soon be hiking its prices
CONSUMERS are facing a winter of discontent after a fourth energy firm hiked its prices – as experts warn of further rises.
Energia is upping its electricity prices by 4%, adding €31 a year to bills for hard-pressed families at the same time as the PSO levy on electricity rises by €25 annually.
It is the fourth firm to announce price hikes recently. Bord Gáis prices for gas and electricity rise from November 1. As will Airtricity’s electricity rates. Electric Ireland prices will go up early next year.
Eoin Clarke, head of switcher.ie, said: ‘When you take all the announcements into account, this means over nine in ten electricity customers are going to see
their bills go up over the coming months – and that’s before we take into account the fact that winter bills are typically the highest anyway.’
And the Society of St Vincent de Paul said: ‘There are a lot of strains on people’s budgets at the moment.’
Electric Ireland is putting up bills, but not until February 1. Energia’s increase is from the beginning of December and was blamed on a 50% rise in the wholesale price of gas, which is burned to generate electricity.
Gary Ryan of Energia said: ‘Regrettably we have to announce a price increase. Like all suppliers we have been impacted by costs outside of our control.
‘The recent increase in regulated network charges and rising wholesale energy costs necessitate a modest increase to our household customers.’
In addition, the Public Service Obligation levy rose by €25 annually from the start of this month on all electricity bills, to almost €105 a year.
Mark Whelan of switching site Bonkers.ie said: ‘One thing is very clear: energy prices are on the rise. It is likely that more suppliers will announce hikes over the coming weeks. Customers should take measures to reduce their consumption or switch to a cheaper supplier to offset the pending increases.’
Mr Clarke of switcher.ie said Energia’s announcement ‘has confirmed our fears that, once one supplier announced a hike, others would follow suit’. He added: ‘Now is the time for people to take action to combat these hikes. Only about 15% of Irish consumers switch energy supplier each year, which means most of us are paying more than we need to for our energy.’
And he said that there are deals available.
Mr Clarke explained: ‘The market is competitive, with some heavily discounted plans available to new customers, along with ongoing discounts for things like paying by direct debit, always paying on time, and opting to receive bills online.
‘A lot of strains on budgets’
‘An average dual-fuel customer switching from typical standard tariffs to the cheapest deals on the market can save up to €362.’
The Society of St Vincent de Paul said the rise in utility bills was putting low-income families under pressure.
A spokesman for the charity said: ‘Some months ago we issued a warning that a combination of waste charges and energy charges was going to cause a lot of difficulties for people, in particular the rise in the PSO levy.’
The charity is receiving the same amount of calls from struggling families as it did when the economy slumped.
‘Even as the economy improves there are still people, not only on social welfare, but in low-paid jobs who are really struggling,’ the spokesman added.
International wholesale energy firm Vayu said gas supplies were under pressure due to ‘an increased level of maintenance and outages at gas fields and processing plants across Europe’.
These have pushed up wholesale gas prices by 50%, and wholesale electricity prices by 28%, compared to September last year.
Irish electricity prices are closely linked to gas prices as 40% of power is produced by gas-powered generating stations. A further 40% comes from wind power and hydroelectric plants, and the rest mostly from peat and coalfired power stations. Comment – Page 14 christian.mccashin
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