Electric Ireland is to cut its prices for domestic electricity and gas again from November.
The country’s largest energy supplier said most electricity customers would see their unit rates fall by 3%, although those using smart meters will benefit from a 5% reduction.
All gas unit rates are set to fall by 3%.
The cuts will result in a saving of €45 on the average annual electricity bill and €40 on an average annual gas bill.
However, those using smart meters will see an annual reduction of €64-75, depending on which smart plan they are on.
The changes will take effect from November 1 and benefit 1.1 million Electric Ireland customers.
There will be no change to Electric Ireland’s standing charge.
But the company said it had decided to absorb the planned increases in regulated network charges announced by the regulator last week.
Those network tariffs are levied on suppliers, who have the discretion as to whether to pass them on to customers or not and Electric Ireland has decided not to.
This will be equivalent to an average saving of €101 on an annual residential electricity bill from October 1st.
“Today’s announcement continues our commitment to deliver value to our customers, while also supporting the transition to a more sustainable energy future,” said Pat Fenlon, executive director, Electric Ireland.
The reduction is the third by Electric Ireland in 12 months.
In January it announced a cut of 8% in electricity rates and 7% in gas prices from March 1.
Around this time last year it said it would slice 10% of electricity charges and 12% off gas rates in November.
Consumers will now be hoping that this latest announcement by Electric Ireland will prompt further price cuts by its competitors.
However, they were 58.5% lower than in July 2022 when the spike in energy costs caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was still being experienced.
Daragh Cassidy, head of communications at bonkers.ie. said it is difficult to see prices for households falling much further in the short to medium term at least, although there may be some room for another small cut in gas prices.
“Wholesale gas and electricity prices are still just over double pre-war levels. This is where they seem to be settling. So we may need to get used to paying much higher prices for our energy going forward,” he said.
“There will be a lot of focus over the coming three weeks on what measures the Government should take in the Budget to support households with high energy costs,” he said.
“But at a minimum I’d call on the Government to keep the reduced 9% rate of VAT. Heating and lighting is not a luxury product and given how high prices remain, and will remain for the foreseeable future, now is not the time for the Government to be further adding to energy costs,” he added.