Electricity bills climb by 14% in 2021

Figures not reflecting dramatic increase in price of energy since start of the year

The figures put the median domestic electricity bill at €1,268.
The figures put the median domestic electricity bill at €1,268.

Irish electricity bills climbed by 14 per cent in 2021 when compared with the previous year while gas prices actually fell slightly over the same period, according to fresh data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The figures, which do not reflect the dramatic spike in the price of energy since the start of 2022, put the median domestic electricity bill at €1,268.

It also suggests that the cost of domestic gas fell by 2.6 per cent in 2021 when compared to 2020 with the median gas bill for households pout at €740.

Next 12 months

The mid-point at which domestic energy was priced for dual fuel customers last year was just over €2,000. Many Irish consumers’ domestic energy bills over the next 12 months are likely to top €4,000.

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Just under half of the residential electricity customers who paid between €750 and €1,000 in 2020 paid between €1,000 and €1,500 in 2021 while 46 per cent in the €500-€750 bill range in 2020 moved into the €750 to €1,000 cost band in 2021.

There was less movement for residential gas customers with 76 per cent of those who paid less than €500 in 2020 remaining in that bill cost band in 2021.

Similarly, 59 per cent of residential gas customers stayed in the €500 to €750 band in both years,

Conor Pope

Conor Pope

Conor Pope is Consumer Affairs Correspondent, Pricewatch Editor