SSE Airtricity has announced it is increasing energy prices for both electricity and gas customers from 2 April.
The changes will see a typical electricity customer’s bill increase by 10.5%, and a typical gas customers’ bills rising by 8.4%.
This will result in an additional €0.47 per day on the average electricity bill and €0.31 per day on the average gas bill.
This equates to a €171.22 annual increase in the cost of electricity and a €113.91 annual increase in the cost of gas.
Dual-fuel household bills will increase by 9.5% on average, which is equivalent to around €0.78 per day.
The electricity unit rate will increase by 12.75% and the gas unit rate by 10.5%. The tariff change will not impact customers on its fixed tariff.
The announced increases follow figures from the Central Statistics Office last week that showed that wholesale electricity prices rose by 22.3% in January compared to the previous month and were 67.7% higher than January 2024.
But wholesale electricity prices are still 56.8% lower when compared with the peak that occurred in August 2022.
SSE Airtricity is the third-largest supplier in the Irish market for both electricity and gas, with around 245,000 electricity customers and around 85,000 gas customers.
The company said the latest price increases are in response to rises in external costs, including network charges and wholesale energy costs.
Defending the hikes, it said it has reduced its prices three times since 2022 and took the decision to forego profit in 2023, instead returning funds to customers.
Managing Director of SSE Airtricity Stephen Gallagher said the company “is committed to working with and supporting our customers and increasing prices is always a last resort”.
“We have worked hard over the past few years to shield customers from the full impact of volatile energy costs,” he said.
“We’re proud to have led the market in customer support measures throughout the cost of living and energy crises, including the largest customer support package in the market and the foregoing of company profits in 2023 in favour of prioritising customer measures. We have reduced electricity tariffs by 31% and gas by 28% since October 2022,” he said.
“We know this news will be disappointing for customers. Network charges increased by around 20% in October 2024 and wholesale costs are 18% higher compared to this time last year. While we shielded customers from the impact of increased networks and other costs for six months, including the winter months, such regulatory charges are outside of our control, and we can no longer absorb these costs,” he added.
The energy supplier said any customers concerned about their energy costs or who are experiencing financial difficulty should contact the company directly to discuss a solution.
Commenting on the SSE Airtricity price increases, Daragh Cassidy from comparison site bonkers.ie said it’s “obviously unwelcome news for households.”
“However in recent weeks wholesale gas and electricity prices have increased significantly again. And last autumn, the CRU also sanctioned a big increase in network charges or ‘grid fees’ for the upkeep of the electricity and gas networks. And some of that increase is now being passed on to consumers as was always feared.
“The only small reprieve is that this hike is coming at the end of winter when energy bills typically become less of a burden for households
“Before today, SSE had the lowest standard rates in the market as it was one of the few suppliers to reduce prices three times over the past two years. So even after this hike, its prices will remain relatively competitive.
“The questions now is whether other suppliers will follow suit,” he added.
