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Why aren't our electricity and gas bills coming down?

It’s a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’, according to the energy regulator.

THE DEMAND FOR a reduction in the price of gas and electricity in response to tumbling oil prices is gathering momentum, with the regulator asking suppliers ‘when, not if’ the price will come down.

The chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communication wants to bring the topic up when committees resume, planning on calling energy companies ‘to explain their position’.

Suppliers are also offering customers new products.

Oil prices are at their lowest level in several years, but aside from falling prices at the fuel pumps, Irish consumers haven’t felt the knock-on effect in their pockets.

This is due to a number of factors, including the Public Service Obligation levy, where suppliers must recoup the cost of ‘meeting the obligation to purchase electricity generated from sustainable, renewable and indigenous sources’.

Another crucial factor in some cases is that the power is bought months in advance, meaning there is a lag in any fall in price.

Gas prices are also following suit, falling significantly.

Chair of the committee, Fine Gael TD John O’Mahony, said in a statement yesterday that an explanation into the exact reason why prices aren’t falling is needed.

“Over the years we have seen our energy bills increase in direct response to increases in global oil and gas prices,” he said.

By this logic, our bills should come down when the price of oil decreases as it has significantly in recent months. However, up to this point there has been no reduction.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Commissioner for Energy Regulation Aoife MacEvilly stressed that prices are no longer being ‘regulated’, but monitored.

She said that CER has been actively engaging with suppliers who haven’t already dropped their standard tariffs.

“Our view is, at this point, it’s a question of when rather than whether they should follow suit,” MacEvilly told the programme.

Electric Ireland and Pinergy have already dropped prices. We think there’s scope out there now for other suppliers to drop their standard tariffs. If we find there are barriers, we are ready to work with suppliers to ensure there are no barriers to reducing [prices].

Other electricity suppliers were contacted yesterday on this issue.

A spokesperson for Airtricity said that an eye is kept on all costs, and if lower costs can be provided, they will be.

“Wholesale prices are volatile and go up as well as down, so we buy energy over periods of time to flatten this out and protect customers for the long term,” he added.

Powerline Donald Lee Pardue Donald Lee Pardue

Bord Gáis Energy said prices are currently being reviewed, and any savings available will be passed on.

Nicky Doran, head of retail at the supplier, noted that a new ‘fixed and fall’ product had been introduced:

This allows customers to lock down their energy costs for two years.  Our new fixed product also guarantees that any new price reduction implemented in the first six months of this year would also be passed on to customers.

This is the first time it has been introduced to the Irish market.

A statement from Energia said that significant discounts are already available, but if more customers switch supplier, it will ‘further market competition and help put  downward pressure on prices’.

This was something echoed by CER, as MacEvilly said this will drive further market competition.

Energia also explained why prices haven’t fallen across the board:

In general, supply companies purchase power 12-24 months in advance so there is a timing lag with actual fuel price movement. It’s also worth noting that fuel costs (primarily gas) only account for an average of 25% of a customer’s bill, with other costs, including Government levies, accounting for the vast majority of the bill

Attempts were made to contact PrePayPower.ie.

Explainer: Oil prices have dipped below $50 a barrel. But Ireland could be a winner… >

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72 Comments
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    Mute Chris
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:20 PM

    Some of my antisocial neighbours (well, their kids to be honest) who live in council houses had their homes retrofitted last year on my street. Meanwhile, on a medium income I can’t afford the scheme, even after the grant, still 5-8 k to be paid. I can afford maybe 1.5 k maximum. In other countries you can pay in installments or depending of your income, you won’t pay a dime. Yes, in other EU countries but it seems in Ireland you won’t pay a dime only if you are a scourge to society.

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    Mute Fiona Wyse
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:25 PM

    @Chris: And that’s why I refuse to buy into this farce. Our tax is paying for theirs and we can’t even afford it ourselves!

    278
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    Mute calum Tierney
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:54 PM

    @Chris: Top Work Eamon – super achiever – 35%, Rural renovation grant less than 5% – you are so worth every penny we spend on you. Just to point out – you announced a plan for 1200 homes at Dublin port – but a few years earlier you produced a map of Dublin showing that area underwater due to rising seas now you want to biuld houses there, pull the other one. You’re an intellectual colossus.

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    Mute Laura H
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    Aug 1st 2023, 7:38 PM

    @Chris: I wish it were only 5-8k..I have a standard semi-d, was talking to a guy from SEAI about the whole retrofit – doors, windows, external insulation, heat pump…17-20k..

    26
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    Mute Paddy C
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    Aug 1st 2023, 11:31 PM

    @Chris: they’re a role model to me now,the incentive to work and buy a home is quickly deminishing waste of time paying a mortgage and under pressure saving to make it greener may aswel be hammering a concrete wall with a rubber hammer, at nothing

    10
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    Mute IMHO
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 1:04 AM

    @Chris: Absolutely spot on. All the new corporation houses have to meet a GradeA classification ; so the benefits brigade get to reap all the comforts and financial benefits of an eco -friendly home whilst contributing nothing. Were things the other way round, all our lefty politicians would be screaming discrimination .

    20
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    Mute Washpenrebel
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:18 PM

    We have the most expensive electricity in the EU. If he really wanted to reduce carbon emissions then electricity must have cheaper electricity. If its cheaper to burn oil or gas then people will not switch to air to water. This guy is asleep at the wheel and really should be removed from his position. If you can’t do the job get out of the chair. People are gonna die of the cold this winter if it doesn’t radically change.

    262
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    Mute Washpenrebel
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:20 PM

    @Washpenrebel: 15cent per kW in Spain 45cent per kW in Ireland…

    232
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    Mute Mark Conlan
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:13 PM

    I fear I will only be able to afford to retrofit my window box the longer this farce continues.

    188
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    Mute patrick kelly
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:38 PM

    Another government policy fails.. What a surprise!

    165
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    Mute TheGood Feign
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:15 PM

    I’ve had first hand experience of this, I’m speaking of personal experience, was getting rénovations and decided may as well get the retrofit. The grants. Every SEAI certified fitter quoted me 6-8k more than the non-certified who would fit the same stuff. Where’s the grant going but to just pad the pockets of those certified if it can be done for almost the exact same amount less without the grant! The govt taken for fools here. Taxpayers cheated. Joke of a system.

    242
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    Mute Laura H
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    Aug 1st 2023, 10:10 PM

    @TheGood Feign: But what about all the grants included – are you telling me that I’ll be able to get my new doors, windows, external insulation and heat pump for 17-20k?..somehow I don’t think so so I’m not going down the route of doing it bit by bit, will do it all in when I can, the grants amount to approx 30k so only option for me – they could improve on the contractors, totally agree they’re being played with them plus the SEAI should also offer loans in order to do the retrofits at a low interest rate to homeowners in order to carry out the works.

    9
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    Mute The ghost of Ireland's past
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:33 PM

    We have the most expensive electricity in the world. Triple what Ukraine’s closest EU neighbours pay. Our government owns 97% of electric Ireland, Irish people are being spectacularly fooled and don’t seem to care. It’s fascinating for other countries to watch, the fighting Irish, haha sure. Greed is the new Ireland, the greediest country on earth

    193
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    Mute john dennehy
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:02 PM

    Their great at announcing policies for a bit of PR, but very bad at implementing any of them, all fur coat and no knickers as Leo once said.

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    Mute kkjLtYn1
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:27 PM

    Shocking delay. We need to set up a public enquiry and convene a citizens forum to get to the bottom of this….

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    Mute Jp Cleary
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:45 PM

    Far from satisfactory…… is that the new ‘ unacceptable ‘……

    89
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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Aug 1st 2023, 5:17 PM

    And handout to the rich.

    And the terms are ODIOUS.

    This isn’t helping the majority. Instead it’s helping rich homeowners with thousands in savings.

    And helping them what?

    Lower their energy bills.

    What about the rest of us?

    Well, we just have to pretend that we have access to public transport so the Irish Green Party fanatics that have never once stepped a foot outside of Dublin won’t lecture us.

    Time to ditch Ireland’s Greenwashing Party and send Ryan back to his South Dublin mansion.

    84
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    Mute Dan Dare
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:58 PM

    Was he awake when he said this? Or was it a dream?

    62
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    Mute Yoly Macaraeg
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    Aug 1st 2023, 3:16 PM

    After the next election retrofitting will be a thing of the past when Sinn Fein/ira are I’m power.

    42
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    Mute Derek Lyster
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    Aug 1st 2023, 5:46 PM

    Is anyone really surprised

    30
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    Mute Pato
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:34 PM

    All initiatives, however well intentioned, gets ground out of use by our public “servants”.

    30
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    Mute John Meade
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    Aug 1st 2023, 5:38 PM

    So is he taking the blame here, it’s pn his watch

    26
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    Mute Liam Foy
    Favourite Liam Foy
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    Aug 1st 2023, 9:50 PM

    I wonder who the fool is , the citizen paying carbon taxes since 2010 that has not received one free solar panel and storage battery or the politician who taking this tax under the pretence it’s to save our burning planet using this tax for other things.

    Everyone who own a home thirteen years later should have got some free renewable on their property. But what do we have banks offering green loans.

    It’s a big crafty joke Irelands effort taxing us to save the planet. America, china, Japan , all big polluters who don’t pay any carbon tax.

    45
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    Mute Jacinta Sheekey
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 8:11 AM

    We applied via the one shop mechanism and paid for the energy rating report. Every existing piece of works done to date was ignored. Cost of works to be done came in at 50k, after grants of 8k. Fees for the one stop shop admin would have been 4k. We don’t have 54k to regenerate a mid terrace house built in 1914. The grant scheme is a joke unless you are rich enough to pay for the work or lucky enough to to pay nothing because the rest of us will pay the inflated costs for your works in all the taxes, income tax, usc, house tax, and levies. Nothing left to save to pay for works as esb and gas hikes wipe out any such possibility.

    22
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    Mute Liam Foy
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 10:20 AM

    @Jacinta Sheekey: keep emailing government for a free solar panel and battery. You have paid for this in carbon taxes every time you took the bus, drove a car, took a train, switched the gas on…since 2010. If more people ask we get this solar panel and battery.
    It’s a start and once set up it’s cheaper to add a free solar panel the following years. That’s how renewables save or burning planet.

    2
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    Mute Frank Heffernan
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    Aug 1st 2023, 4:47 PM

    10k per house. Chicken feed.

    20
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    Mute paulgurney
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 10:33 AM

    Another “scheme” where to qualify you must be over 90 years of age, both grandparents still living and able to speak Klingon fluently..Simple really and it allows Waffler O Brien and Waffler Ryan another minute of “what We’ve Done” radio time

    8
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    Mute F Fitzgerald
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    Aug 2nd 2023, 11:33 AM

    It really does seem as if they’re waiting for people to become homeless before helping to insulate homes.

    1
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    Mute Jippo Nolan
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    Aug 1st 2023, 11:03 PM

    Maybe the bould Eamo can don a hazmat suit & give a dig out!

    4
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