Winter bills misery as a fifth energy supplier ups prices

A FIFTH energy firm is set to hike its prices for the second time this year – adding almost €300 to customers’ annual bills in the space of just five months.

Energia will put the prices up for its 180,000 customers on New Year’s Day, just before Christmas creditcard bills start landing on doormats.

A dual-fuel customer will see their bill increase by an average of almost 6%, or €2.26 a week, or €117.52 across the entire year.

Added to the previous price increase, which came into effect in August, this means customers will have to pay €296.92 a year more in their annual energy bills.

Electricity-only customers will see an average increase of 5.5%, or €1.19 per week, and gas-only customers’ bills will rise by an average of 6.3%, or €1.07 per week.

Energia has almost 8% of the electricity market, and 7% of the gas market.

It is the fifth energy company to hike its prices twice this year, joining Flogas, Panda Power, Pinergy and SSE Airtricity in doing so.

‘Substantial’ rises in wholesale gas costs were blamed for pushing prices up.

Wholesale prices are 47% higher than a year ago. It is partly blamed on low storage levels because last winter’s harsh weather sent demand soaring.

Energia’s Geoff Codd said: ‘We only ever increase our prices very reluctantly and we work hard to offer our customers the very best value possible. Unfortunately, this increase in prices is unavoidable due to ongoing increases in the broader wholesale price of energy.’

Daragh Cassidy, of price comparison website bonkers.ie, said: ‘The easiest thing right now to avoid higher bills is to look at switching energy supplier so that you’re paying a cheaper tariff.

‘That’s because energy suppliers save their best deals, which are often discounted by up to 30%, for brand-new customers.

Right now, customers can save an average of €300 a year by switching.’

Experts yesterday warned other suppliers are likely to continue the price-hike trend, with further announcements expected ‘sooner rather than later’.

Eoin Clarke, of price comparison site switcher.ie, said: ‘Energia is the fifth energy supplier in just a matter of months to put its prices up for a second time this year, so the question now is not if, but when, the next supplier will follow suit.

‘The latest hike from Energia is a bitter blow for customers whose bills already went up by almost €180 in August.’

Meanwhile, a survey out earlier this week found that nine out of ten people are nervous about the cost of heating their homes this winter.

According to the Winter Heating Bills survey from home-heating company, NRG Awareness, nearly one-in-five people, 19%, are ‘very worried’ about their heating bills.

Yet, despite these worries, the survey found that almost half, 49%, haven’t switched their energy supplier in the past three years.

Almost a third of people surveyed, 31%, expect to spend more than €500 on heating their home this winter.

Although grants are available to help people upgrade their home heating or insulation, more than three quarters of people, 78%, said the potential cost of the work puts them off investing in changes or repairs to their systems. christian.mccashin@dailymail.ie

Nine out of ten people ‘worried’