The ESB has accused the European Commission of publishing inaccurate information which suggested that Irish householders were paying the third-highest prices in the EU for electricity.
The figures were contained in a fact sheet published on Ireland by the commission last week to coincide with its new EU-wide climate change and energy policy.
It stated that domestic charges for electricity in Ireland were 19 per cent above the EU average, and that only Italian and German domestic users faced higher charges.
The ESB said it was contacting the commission to seek a correction, and that Irish householders paid close to the EU average for electricity.
He said domestic users paid less than 1 per cent above the EU average for electricity, and that this was according to the latest official figures across the EU for domestic electricity prices, published last October.
However, the company said it took no issue with other figures in the report, which showed that industrial users were paying the second-highest charges in Europe for electricity.
The ESB claimed that all of the main recommendations in the commission's new energy policy had already or were in the process of being implemented, including targets for renewable energy and separation of the ESB into two companies dealing with power generation and the grid itself.
Yesterday the commission said it was not aware of any mistake. It maintained that Irish users paid very high prices for electricity. A spokeswoman said if there was any error in the fact sheet, it would be rectified.
"There can always be argument about the fine detail of the interpretation of statistics . . . However, the fact remains that Ireland has some of the highest prices for electricity in the EU and this problem needs to be addressed."