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YOU MAY WANT to turn your TV and Playstation off standby – Irish electricity is the third most expensive in the EU.
New figures from Eurostat, the Union’s statistics hub, show Ireland sitting on average electrical tariffs of €25.40 per 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh).
In layman’s terms, we’re paying well above the EU average for our electricity, and when taxes and levies are discounted we have the most expensive power to be found anywhere in Europe.
In the same rankings last year Ireland finished fourth highest in the EU when it came to expensive electricity.
In the last year prices have increased here by 5.4%, giving us the third highest rate of increase behind France (a whopping 10.2%) and Luxembourg (5.6%).
To give an idea of the rate we’re dealing with – the UK, our closest neighbour, has average charges of €20.1 per 100 kWh, 21% lower than what we’re seeing here. As a caveat, at 5% the UK boasts the joint lowest tax charge on power in the EU.
At least our taxes and charges are relatively benign – at 18% the levies we pay on electricity are well below the EU average of 32%.
Still, the fact remains the Irish are paying through the nose for their power, so why is that the case?
Exposed
A range of issues have been blamed by our energy companies in the past for our sky-high rates.
Electric Ireland told the Irish Independent previously that Eurostat bases its figures on “lower average consumption figures than are found here”.
They further stressed that Ireland relies heavily on imported fossil fuels to generate our electricity, leaving the power companies more exposed to international fuel markets, transport costs and foreign currency issues than other countries.
When contacted by TheJournal.ie with regard to the Eurostat report an Electric Ireland spokesman said that while the organisation is “not in a position to comment” at present, the company is “aware that the Eurostat report does not reflect recent price decreases”.
At a meeting of the Oireachtas Transport Committee in February, general manager at Electric Ireland Jim Dollard was adamant energy is priced as low as it possibly can be in Ireland.
“You can’t accuse us of creaming customers, we’re doing the best we can, and just like prices our own margins are below the European average for utility companies,” he said at the time.
Dollard added that assuming other factors remain calm the price of our energy will fall, with the biggest impact probably to be seen towards the end of this year and into 2016.
At the same meeting Dave Kirwan, managing director of Bord Gáis Energy, was in agreement.
“The fall of the Euro against Sterling is huge given we import so much power from the UK,” he said.
All these things undermine wholesale price decreases.
Clearly the cost of generating our electricity is way too high. Let’s look to the market and see why things cannot be done cheaper.
Something is definitely wrong. Is it salaries, bonuses, other costs? What is making us so much more expensive than our counterparts?
We need to learn how to make things better so we come in line with others who clearly know how to keep their costs down. There has to be a better deal for Irish consumers.
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Very well said
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wind wind wind wind wind wind wind pylons for wind wind wind wind pylons for wind wind wind wind pylons for wind wind wind wind has locked society into high energy costs for the next 20 years. We can never avail of cheap gas prices again :
http://irishenergyblog.blogspot.ie/2015/03/what-is-esbs-position-on-current-energy.html
No wonder the dobster like Malta Jaysus the price of electricity there. He loves getting a cheap deal in around 1.5% usually that’s his going rate.
Well that’s borrox, John :) prices have been coming down. The article clearly states that it’s the volatility of the fossil fuel and currency markets that causes problems. We also have a challenging network layout – lots of single houses far from towns.
Thats complete borrox .
We always had a wide distribution of houses, it never caused problems before because you only had to run small wires out to these areas.
What has happened recently is that the network had to be reversed to accommodate numerous wind farms scattered about on mountains and bogs. So we are forced to build large grid infrastructure in remote areas whereas before we just built large networks in cities and then progressively smaller. Network charges are now 30% of our bills, a ridiculous amount.
This is an interesting article and certainly brings to mind various subjects of note. First off, I’d like to begin with…..
DENIS O’BRIEN
Some interesting all encompassing reading…..
This whole island is run by cosy cartels.
Just 1.25% of the island
There was a time when Electricity prices in Ireland were among the cheapest, however that was before the PDs decided to open the market (Generation and Supply) and introduce competition with the stated aim of driving prices down.
Exactly Jimmy. When there was just ESB we had the cheapest electricity in Europe. Now that there’s ‘competition’ we’ve the most expensive. Another factor is that guaranteed high prices provided to wind producers in order to get more renewables on the grid. Even if there’s cheaper energy available wind has priority. Those renewables are in hard to reach places, in order to get that energy to where it’s needed Eirgrid have to spend a whole lot of money building new ugly HV lines in beautiful areas. All of which is expensive. Was any of this costed costed properly. NO. Sure why would you bother costing a policy when someone else is paying for it.
Dear Journal.ie. Please defend my right to read what our TDs say in the Dail and the right of our press to report on and scrutinise what they say.
Read it in the Dail website it’s there.
In all fairness, I don’t think thejournal.ie entirely disagrees with this protest.
As journalists, they are probably even more incensed by events and restrictions than us.
Despite complaints that some people’s comments have been deleted, they are taking their own sweet time taking many down – by which time the majority of people who could read them, have.
Agree. Let’s see what is said on Tuesday after what I hope is a correct court ruling that vindicates our Constitutional right to hear what our TDs say. I suspect it will be a tsunami.
Im glad people are starting to see the corruption in Irish buisness and politics, the only way
for this country to move forward is to reform the political system!
How much would the electricity cost to write articles about DOB with a comments section?
1.25€ if they don’t mention DOB.
7.50€ if they do.
500 million euro.
This bloody PSO levy on the bills are a bloody joke also.
Despite having installed 2,200MW of fuel free wind (equal to about half of peak demand), we now have the third highest electricity prices in Europe. Surely we need to revise this rush for wind ?
73 bad reviews on the Google play store regarding the journal app since this started. Kick them where it hurts. Gutless wonders.
Why did the journal pull the story on Catherine Murphys statement in the Dail on Thursday? The article was up for over an hour here before it was taken down and mine was top comment!! No seriously, broadsheet.ie printed the Dail speech, and added the threat from O’Briens rep and response. Was the journal threatened in some manner or was it their own legal advice despite the clear provision of Article 15.2 of the constitution.
Yes it’s obvious it’s the most expensive when you get your extortionate bill. We used to have one of the cheapest when we just had the ESB.
Oh but competition and market liberalisation is the answer to everything.
Thank Europe yet again for their non help.
The EU should be thanked for their help to disimprove our lives in everyway possible.
Dear Journal. It’s €25.40 per 100 kWh….not per kWh. If that was the case we’d be paying well in excess of €1000 per monthly electricity bill. If you’re going to quote from your graphs supplied please at least read them first. Might make some clever journalistic sence!!
‘Chris’
The whole thing has fallen apart around you. From your ‘who?’ comment on the Bill O’ Herlihy story, I knew there was something about you. Then you proceeded to click into every story since Thurs to leave the same ‘ get out and protest if you want to do something,losers’ comment… But your handicapped children statement ruined it. You do have problems though. As has been said, maybe seek help. Clicking into every story knowing that there will be Denis O’ Brien comments and then bitching about it screams of attention-seeking. That has been obvious to a lot of people over the weekend.
Google “nikolas tesla ; free energy” a genius, he wanted to give the world free energy only to be shunned and sabotaged.
It’s all about money sadly. Imagine he’d gotten what he wanted. Would have been amazing
yes seen the documentary very inventive in a lot of areas died a very poor man while others feasted of his ideas. recommend it a good watch
We have to pay to keep tPoolbeg towers standing & put cables underground
That’s what it’s going to be like with IW in a few years.
Nuclear is the answer (but let the Germans run it).
Putting cables underground is a good investment as it increases the value of the land in our cities, towns and countryside.
Many European countries like France have cheap electricity due to a huge supply of nuclear power.
There are always reasons behind these price differences.
I’d prefer the cables underground rather than a small decrease in price.
did you get a price decrease in your electric? i also prefer all cables underground, and phone lines as well. my phone line needed repair 5 times this year already and electric has gone twice the polls are unstable if heavy trucks go by thats it.
remove Dennis o Brien from our country and ban him,he attacked our constitution, and enda ran into hiding.
No mention of the fact that all these useless wind turbines and wind farms have to be paid for, as well as the substantial ROC payments and Constraint payments plus the additional substations and the huge pylons with their overhead power lines, which by the way is paid for by the consumers in hidden charges on your electricity bills. All of which contributes to the excessive electricity bills which is driving thousands of homes into fuel poverty (44% in NI) and jeopardising jobs in the manufacturing sector as we cannot compete on a level playing field especially on the export markets because of the huge running cost. It comes as no great surprise to see the two leading countries in the drive for renewable energy in Europe, namely Germany and Denmark as having the highest electricity costs in Europe. Further proof that all their wind turbines and wind farms is just a massive con and providing no value for money whatsoever to the consumer. This money that is being wasted on this renewable energy scam would be far better spent in our schools and hospitals where it would do some good and where we can see the benefits.
relating to this article, check out bonkers.ie and switch your electricity provider.
Good idea
Where’s my money?
Fuel is a small portion of the final cost of electricity, perhaps 10%. The remaining 90% is capital expenditure, operation & maintenance, profit, taxes & levies, and of course paying for the numerous state and semi-state bodies who live like leeches on the electricity consumer.
The expenditure on wind turbines and the whole new power grid necessary because of wind, and keeping all the existing power plants for the windless days is simply huge. A growing percentage of the electricity generated by wind is surplus and worthless. This problem will increase dramatically as more and more wind turbines are erected in Ireland, the plan is to double the current quantity by 2020. Note that even the wind industry no longer claims that wind power reduces the cost of electricity, now they spin another yarn about “energy security”. I say that the ten billion plus being spent on ineffective wind turbines will buy an awful lot of energy security if it was used to buy oil and gas when it is at rock bottom prices.
That renewable energy leaders Germany and Denmark have the world’s most expensive grid supplied electricity says it all on the topic if the economics of our current blind lemming like rush over the renewable energy cliff.
The final insult to the Irish consumer is that the killer smoke particle and CO2 belching peat stations produce more CO2 than saved by every wind turbine in Ireland, but our politicians keep these poison factories running because there is a few votes to be had. Will anyone ask Energy Minister Alex White about that?
Pity we cannot use Journal articles to discuss topics anymore. Re DOB fans I’d like to say that we all know the issue now but continuing comments killing every article is self defeating at this stage. The Journal can do nothing at the moment. Wait a few days or a week to see a major shift in events.
“The fall of the Euro against Sterling is huge given we import so much power from the UK,” he said.”
When the exchange rate was almost €1-£1 you still charged expensive rates.
they will be along shortly :D
Not long after yourself Pat
Yes Pat joe ,Baz etc.
We look forward to DOB buying our old ESB and giving us Huge discounts to sign up for his wonderful entity.
Pat Joe Joe, you giving out about us in every article is no less spam than us giving out about Denis O’Brien in every article.
What about PV systems. Incentives and grants all around Europe to install them but nothing here in the republic.
Until we switch over to completely renewable sources of electricity, and stop bringing in oil by fleet of tankers full, electricity will remain high.
If the country strives to switch over to renewables, that should change. (Although we can’t count on it, because Denis O’Brien will probably get the contract and screw us all anyway)
Todd, please give us an example of a country which has switched to wind power and seen a reduction in the cost of electricity? I’m not holding my breath for an answer, because there is none!
Me too Ross…Todd believes we can switch to completely renewable sources of energy. Can you please tell us how this is to be achieved? Take wind energy for example. The latest Bord Na Mona windfarm to be commissioned is Mount Lucas. It has 28 Siemens direct drive 3MW industrial wind turbines. Reports are surfacing that they are actually running on a capacity factor of less than 20%. What’s going to take up the slack for the rest of 80%. Maybe we should wait for the wind to be blowing at just the right speed before attempting to flick a switch??
Any country that actually makes it happen will see savings over time. Countries like Ireland will see some of the highest benefits, because we spend immense amounts of money shipping in oil and other fossil fuels in order to generate electricity and run our automobiles, and intercity trains, all of which can be converted over to renewables over time, with zero cost for electrical generation, and zero cost for bringing in fuel for electrical generation. Most of the infrastructure we already have is completely reusable for renewable sources, because it’s just transit. (same as all our roads will still be usable by electric cars, except that we’ll have to account for charging them, but that added infrastructure can be tacked onto existing infrastructure easily.)
There currently may not be any countries that have seen big savings, but there are currently zero countries that have completed the switch to run on 100% renewables, and maintained it for any length of time. There are countries that meet nearly all of their energy needs with renewables (Costa Rica, and I believe Iceland or Finland.. don’t remember which off the top of my head.) but for all of these, it is only THIS YEAR that they have reached those milestones. Costa Rica ran for 75 days in a row on 100% renewable sources of electricity. Once these countries run on 100% renewables for some length of time, the financial benefits will become clear.
The benefits are also not limited just to money for electrical generation. Not releasing toxic gases into the air will help with air quality and hopefully reduce symptoms of asthma, and other breathing disorders that are exacerbated by “dirty” air, which will in-turn reduce medical costs of treating those ailments. Fueling cars with petrol or diesel releases carcinogens and other toxins in the air, and in the long-term reducing the amount of those toxins in our environment should also reduce medical costs associated with the results of those toxins.
Waiting until there are examples that prove the cost savings is also just stupid. We, the human race, are creating a situation by burning fossil fuels, and will cause this planet to no longer be able to support human life. If we don’t fix this, our race may become extinct within just a few generations. It may already be too late, but the only way we’ll find out for sure, is by trying to fix it.
Ireland should be building “farms” to harness wave energy off the Atlantic coast, along with wind farms.
If the turbines being used to build wind farms aren’t appropriate for the Irish weather, then different ones should be used. Sounds like Bord Na Mona didn’t pick the right ones, or they didn’t deploy them properly.
We need 6,500 mw of generation to cover a winter peak demand of 5,000 mw, an average demand of 3,300 mw and a summer night time demand of 2,000 mw. This allows for summer repair and essential maintenance of all plant with a reserve to cover emergencies. Capacity payments are paid to compensate surplus generators at times of off peak.
We still have (and must keep) that 6,500 mw of generation capacity, to that was added 2,000 mw of wind generation and 1,800 mw of fast acting plant to balance that wind. = 9,800 mw in total and rising with more wind. All this plant most make a profit and this is loaded on consumers. Wind and Imported electricity is non-synchronous and can’t be allowed in to the system above 50% and can’t provide base load power (46%). Ireland will soon have the highest electricity prices in the world because all parties are committed to achieving it.
There will be no mention of it in the next election campaign, the issues are decided by the media and centre on hospitals and jobs. Cadburys are leaving for Poland who don’t do wind. Ireland’s wind farms are net consumers of electricity when measured over one year. Appliances like washing machines. Its a dogs dinner, warn those living abroad not to return home.
Why do we like making reference to the costs in the UK?
We only seem to want to focus on this when it suits us!
Why is electricity so deR in Ireland?
What, if anything is the Government doing about excessive charges?
Why are the standing charges so high?
It’s is a rip off culture!
Government must act!
But will it?
have your say