Charlie Weston
Homes face double blow on energy prices
HOUSEHOLDERS will be hammered by steep hikes in winter energy costs, as extra taxes and price hikes combine to push up bills by hundreds of euro.
Consumers have been warned to urgently seek out a new energy deal as prices are set to surge just as the cold weather sets in.
A second round of price increases in electricity and domestic gas tariffs has begun on the back of wholesale costs shooting up in the past few months.
Carbon taxes are also set to rise in Tuesday’s Budget in a move that will send up the price of gas, heating oil, coal and briquettes.
The double whammy of price rises will make it expensive to heat and light homes over the winter period, experts said.
Two providers, Flogas and Panda Power, have already said they are raising prices from next month.
This is the second few months the two have hiked prices. time in a suppliers
Panda Power said yesterday it is to increase gas and electricity prices by 11pc next month, adding €174 to annual bills for those with dual-fuel from the provider.
It means that a customer who gets electricity only from the provider will end up paying an additional €100 over a year, according to calculations by price comparison site Switcher.ie.
Gas-only customers will see annual bills rise by €75 from November 5.
People who have just moved to Panda Power have a 14-day cooling off period in their contracts and can move again.
In July, Panda announced a 5.9pc rise in electricity prices and 5pc on gas, which pushed up dual-fuel bills by €80 over a year.
The company said the latest increases are in direct response to wholesale energy costs and the need to revisit its pricing structure.
People who get electricity and gas from Panda Power will see bills rise by €250 a year.
Householders were advised to insulate themselves financially by locking in now to a discount deal from one of the 10 energy providers serving the residential market.
Daragh Cassidy, of price comparison site Bonkers.ie, warned that electricity and gas prices are on the rise, due to a feared second round of price increases and higher carbon taxes.
He said the only way to counter this was to change supplier.
“All energy suppliers offer heavily discounted deals for new customers so rather than looking for the cheapest supplier, the key thing is to just switch supplier every 12 months so that you’re always on a discounted, new customer tariff.”
The Budget is expected to contain a range of energy and environmental taxes in a bid to improve emissions targets.
A move to raise the carbon tax by €10 per tonne of emissions will have a widespread impact on families.
A second round of price rises is expected after Flogas put up its prices last week. It was the second hike in recent months.
Flogas Natural Gas will be increasing its unit rate price by 9.8pc, with effect from November 1, pushing up the typical gas bill by about €80 a year.
A number of suppliers, including Energia, SSE Airtricity, and Electric Ireland, have all hiked their energy prices in recent months.