- Thursday 11 January 2024
Navigating Ireland's Fluctuating Electricity Market: Impact on Household Bills.
Ireland's electricity prices are among the highest in Europe, ranking 4th. This makes it more important than ever to think about using WeSwitchU to get the best deal on the market - every year.
What impacts the cost of your electricity
If you live in Ireland and ever pondered about the factors that determine your electricity prices, then you've come to the right place. The prices are majorly influenced by elements like the cost of producing electricity, taking care of the grid, and providing electricity to households - all of which we'll explore further.
The cost of generating electricity often sees ups and downs depending on fuel prices used in power stations. These include gas, coal, and oil. Not to forget, renewable energy sources like wind and solar power also factor into the price determination.
Have you ever wondered about what goes into maintaining the power grid? Well, it plays quite a significant role in electricity pricing. The costs for installing, operating, and keeping the infrastructures - that helps electricity reach from power generators to your homes - in check, is all taken into account.
Moving ahead, the cost of supplying electricity isn't limited to just generation and delivery, but also includes expenses like billing, customer service, and other administrative work.
Now, how do the various electricity suppliers in Ireland respond to changes in the wholesale prices? Some decide to swallow the price change to keep their customer base intact, while others may prefer the route of passing the additional costs onto the customers by upping their prices. This reaction varies among suppliers and can significantly influence your household bills.
What's important to remember, however, is that the Irish government has put protections in place for you against abrupt price hikes. For instance, suppliers must give customers a heads up of 30 days before they plan to increase prices. This time frame provides you, the consumer, with the opportunity to switch to another provider if the proposed price hike doesn't sit well with you.
Now, we know that the wholesale prices have fallen recently, so let's take a look at which suppliers have passed on the reductions to their consumers over the past four months;
Electric Ireland
Announced a 10% reduction in Electricity prices on 7th September 2023
Flogas
Announced a 30% reduction in Electricity prices on 15th September 2023
Bordgais Energy
Announced a 15.5% reduction in Electricity prices on 20th September 2023
Energia
Announced a 15% reduction in Electricity prices and smart meter customers on 15th September 2023
SSE Airtricity
Announced a 12% decrease in electricity prices on 8th September 2023 and a further 12.8% reduction on 12th December
Conclusion
It’s hard to stay on top of the fluctuating prices in the electricity market, but you can use WeSwitchU to ensure you get the best price for you, every year. The WeSwitchU platform has all the tariffs available across all electricity suppliers, and we will switch you seamlessly at the end of your yearly contract or as soon as a better deal becomes available.
Unlike other switching sites, WeSwitchU does not receive commission from suppliers. This means that we are solely focused on the best deal for our customers, rather than meeting volume quotas for suppliers.
We have a simple mission - to save customers time and money on their electricity bills every year. One household at a time.