Airtricity customers are to be hit with gas price increases of more than 20 per cent and electricity price hikes of over 12 per cent staring as early as next month, the company announced this afternoon.
It blamed “significant increase in wholesale energy costs” on the price increases which are likely to hit many of its customers who are already struggling to pay their bills.
The company said that effective from September 1st, the standard price on an electricity unit and its and standing charges would go up by 12.3 per cent. A month later its gas unit rates will increase by 21.2 per cent. Its gas standing charge will remain unchanged.
The average domestic gas bill is €720 a year and an increase of 22 per cent will push bills up by just under €160 annually. An electricity price increase of 12 per cent will add around €144 on to consumers’ household bills.
“In these difficult times Airtricity very much regrets the need to increase energy prices,” the company’s chief executive Kevin Greenhorn said. He claimed that Airtricity had “sought to lead the way in price reductions and bring competition to the Irish electricity and gas markets and said it gave him “no pleasure to announce our first price increase since joining the mass domestic market in 2008”.
He said there had been “a significant increase in wholesale energy prices” and suggested that the company had “done our best to absorb these costs we can no longer do so”.
His comments echo the sentiments expressed by Bord Gais Energy who last month applied to the Commission for Energy Regulation for gas price increases of 28 per cent.
While it has yet to have its price increases sanctioned, both Airticity and ESB Electric Ireland can set their prices as they wish.
The regulator has yes to decide what level of price increase it will allow to Bord Gáis Energy although it suggested that it would be closer to 22 per cent than the 28 per cent sought by the company. The company has already increased its electricity prices by 12 per cent.
The ESB announced a range of electricity discounts in April although it is thought that it will follow the two other players in the market with increases in the coming days.
