Household electricity and gas bills are falling, but remain well above what consumers were used to for many years
. It is reducing prices by 3 per cent generally and 5 per cent for those using a smart meter. The reduction would have been higher had Electric Ireland, the ESB’s retail arm, not decided to absorb an increase in the standing charge which customers pay to contribute towards the network, which has just been given the green light by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities .
Nonetheless, household energy prices remain significantly higher than they were before the rise in wholesale prices began, as do costs to business. While wind is playing an increasing role in Irish energy provision, the wholesale price of gas is still key. For now, there is no sign of a further sustained decline in its cost on wholesale markets and so costs to households will remain above the levels which consumers were used to for many years.
The direction of travel here must be towards increasing permanent supports to households through welfare payments. There may be a role for a last round of temporary payments for those most in need. But there is no case for an expensive further payment of universal energy credits to all households. As well as being wasteful, this would build up an expectation that the State can support households with their energy bills on an ongoing basis.
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