Energy supplier SSE Airtricity has announced some of the largest ever rises in household gas and electricity prices in Ireland.
The company is increasing the unit price of its electricity by 45.2 per cent and the unit price of its gas by 46.3 per cent from October 1st.
Its electricity and gas standing charges are also going up by 8 per cent. The move will impact around 250,000 electricity customers and 85,000 gas customers.
The increase will add almost €600 a year to the average customer's electricity bill and over €500 a year to their gas bill, according to bonkers.ie.
SSE last increased its prices in May when it hiked the unit price of its gas by 39 per cent and its electricity by over 30 per cent. It also increased its prices three times in 2021.
When all these price increases are taken together, SSE customers will be paying over €1,000 more for their gas and €1,100 more for their electricity each year, bonkers.ie analysis shows.
Last year there were over 35 price hike announcements from Irish energy suppliers and the trend has continued into this year with Bord Gais Energy, Energia, Electric Ireland and PrePayPower all announcing massive price hikes.
Market volatility
Klair Neenan, managing director of SSE Airtricity, acknowledged the price increases would be "disappointing" for customers.
"It was hoped market volatility would ease, but the global energy crisis continues to impact gas and electricity costs for all energy suppliers," she said.
"However, we are acutely aware of the impact this has for households and are working hard to help where we can. This includes our €25 million support fund offsetting today’s announced price change for our existing financially vulnerable customers for the winter period. It also includes €1 million donation to a national charity partner that provides invaluable assistance to households, regardless of their energy supplier.
"SSE Airtricity has a longstanding commitment to working with our customers. Our customer support fund is aimed at helping customers experiencing financial difficulty through the current cost of living and energy crisis.
"As always, we encourage any customer who is having difficulty with their energy bills to contact us. We will work with them to find a solution together, including flexible payment plans, budget plans, and different payment methods such as pay-as-you-go options.
"While it is difficult to know when wholesale prices will begin to improve, we are committed to reducing our prices as soon as we can."
