Kenneth Fox
Bord Gáis Energy has become the latest energy supplier to cut its prices in a welcome move for households.
It is the second time the country’s largest gas supplier has reduced its prices in four months and follows recent price cuts from Electric Ireland on Monday and SSE Airtricity in December.
Bord Gáis Energy is cutting its unit rate of electricity by 10 per cent and its gas by 9.5 per cent from February 29th.
It is also decreasing its standing charge for both electricity and gas by 8 per cent.
When both reductions are taken into account, the average household will save around €190 a year on their electricity and €141 a year on their gas.
Bord Gáis Energy only last decreased its prices in November when it cut its gas and electricity prices by 15.5 per cent each.
That reduction saved customers around €357 a year on their electricity costs and €274 on their gas.
Bord Gáis Energy is by far the country’s biggest gas supplier with over 300,000 customers. It also has over 350,000 electricity customers.
A spokesperson for comparison website Bonkers said: “This is obviously more good news and comes hot on the heels of a price cut from Electric Ireland on Monday. It means the country’s biggest electricity supplier and biggest gas supplier have now both announced sizeable price reductions.
“It’s also welcome that Bord Gáis Energy has cut its standing charges. These were increased hugely by all suppliers during the crisis. No one can avoid them, no matter how little energy they use, so it’s good to see these hikes being reversed.
“However, even after the reduction, Bord Gáis Energy’s electricity prices remain around 90 per cent above where they were in 2020 before, Covid and then the war in Ukraine wreaked havoc, with energy prices while its gas prices are just over double previous levels. So we need to put things into perspective.
“Yes, prices are falling, but they’re falling from really high levels. So it’ll still be a very expensive winter to heat and light our homes. And of course, this price cut doesn’t come into effect until the very end of winter."
They said the good news is that wholesale gas and electricity prices continue to fall, and a third price decrease from Bord Gáis is likely by the second half of next year.
