Bord Gáis Energy has become the latest provider to announce a cut in the cost of its domestic electricity and gas with the price move set to save some of its customers more than €300 over the course of the year ahead.
It is the second time in four months Bord Gáis Energy has reduced the cost of its electricity and gas with the lower charges to take effect from February 29th.
When the two price cuts are added together some of its customers are likely to see the annual cost of their electricity and gas fall by about €1,000 when compared with last year.
People will not have to do anything and the discounted rates will automatically apply to accounts from the end of next month.
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The company – which has about 600,000 customers – said the 10 per cent reduction in its electricity unit rates should save customers €190 annually while the 9.5 per cent cut in the unit rate of gas will see those bills fall by about €141 per year.
When added to an 8 per cent reduction in standing charges that the company also announced, a residential dual fuel customer should be better off by an estimated €331 per year, the company said.
The announcement comes two days after Electric Ireland released details of price reductions which it said would save dual fuel customers an average of €264 a year.
In December SSE Airtricity said it was cutting its prices from the beginning of next month with its electricity costs falling by almost 13 per cent while gas prices will be cut by 11.5 per cent. It said the cuts would save the average household about €210 a year on their electricity bills, and €150 year on gas.
The latest move is likely to put pressure on both Flogas and Energia to announce price cuts of their own in the days ahead.
The managing director of Bord Gáis Energy, Dave Kirwan, said the latest reduction when added to its November price drop will see its dual-fuel customers saving almost €1,000 per year.
He said the company was “cutting deeper than our competitors” and suggested that “despite some volatility remaining, wholesale energy prices have continued to stabilise, and our careful hedging strategy has meant we can pass on today’s savings”.
He acknowledged that the last two years have “been particularly difficult for those struggling to meet their bills” and said the company had “shown our commitment, through various initiatives, to ease the financial burden on customers throughout the energy crisis and we continue to do so”.
While the price cuts will be welcomed by Bord Gáis Energy customers, the cost of energy remains substantially higher than in recent years with the annual cost of domestic energy in 2024 likely to be about €3,000 compared with about €2,000 just two years ago.
Wholesale gas and electricity prices still appear to be on a downward curve and if there is no great upheaval we should see prices fall by about 10 per cent later this year, probably as we head into the autumn.
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