The energy regulator has published proposals to change the way Bord Gáis's gas bills are calculated.
The Commission for Energy Regulation is seeking to implement more user-friendly tariff structures for the company's 550,000 residential and 20,000 business customers.
The commission says the new tariff options have been designed to be more cost transparent and offer customers more choice based upon their preferences and their level of consumption.
Under the new scheme, there would be five residential tariff options offering a mix of fixed and variable charges.
Under one option, customers could pay a small fixed charge per month that will cover administration costs and a flat variable charge that covers all other costs
The fixed charge will be at a lower level than the present standing charge with more of the costs being recovered through the variable charge.
Alternatively customers could opt a greater fixed charge that would include a number of pre-paid "bundled" units of gas that would be provided over the winter period.
This would have the advantage of spreading a customer's cost of gas over the year by reducing winter bills and increasing summer bills.