Its wholesale electricity price index shows costs topped out in August, when the index read 715.5. They slipped to 299.3 last month, following an uptick in December. Unhelpfully, the CSO uses a 100 benchmark, based on prices paid in 2015, so it does not tell you how much power cost at any point: it simply illustrates movement in those charges.
Green Procurement’s calculation of average monthly day-ahead prices show they peaked in August at 38.76 cent a KWh, or a possible 50.76 cent maximum including charges. Excluding those costs, the day-ahead average slipped to 28.349 cent in September, then to 13.616 cent in October before tacking back up to 14.287 cent in November and 27.669 in December.
Gas generates most of our electricity in Ireland and, under EU rules, sets wholesale power prices. Homes and businesses also use the fuel directly for heating and other purposes. For its part, ESB-owned Electric Ireland, the biggest player in the Irish domestic market, points out that while wholesale prices have fallen, they remain at multiples of their pre-crisis levels. The State company says it is forgoing profit from its residential business and gave €50 credit to those customers in December. It has boosted its hardship fund to €5 million from €2 million.
Suppliers say another version of this explains the difference between domestic and multinational bills. In that case, the big companies get contracts allowing them to fix a low electricity price, tied to the wholesale market, over several years. So, anyone who struck a deal in 2020 could still be paying the exceptionally low rates that prevailed when lockdowns dampened gas demand and thus electricity costs.
In August 2021 it added €8.36 a month to a typical gas bill and €11.39 a month to electricity. It followed this in September with an €8.16 monthly hike to gas charges and €10.26 on electricity, but guaranteed no further increases until the following spring.
Losses? They've literally never been making as much money. The answer to 'why are customer energy bills still so high' is: greed.
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Source: IrishTimesBiz - 🏆 6. / 77 Read more »
Source: IrishTimesBiz - 🏆 6. / 77 Read more »