BE Energy, Pinergy, and Iberdrola have become the third, fourth, and fifth energy suppliers to raise their electricity prices since PrepayPower and Electric Ireland at the beginning of September.
The floodgates are now well and truly open with three more energy providers announcing an increase today in the cost of their standard residential electricity rates.
Coming exactly one month after the initial price increase from Electric Ireland, the three suppliers BE Energy, Pinergy, and Iberdrola will now become the third, fourth and fifth suppliers to announce a hike in their prices after PrepayPower announced an increase on Friday 4th September.
We look at the full details of all the price increases below.
The latest price increases:
BE Energy
BE Energy is one of three energy suppliers to announce an electricity price increase with a 2.9% rise scheduled to come into effect for customers from November 1st.
The planned increase will see the average energy customer pay €1.60 extra per month, adding an estimated €19 (inc. VAT) to the average annual bill.
Similar to other suppliers who announced an increase in their prices, BE Energy is also blaming an increase in network operator costs as the reason for passing on the increase to its customers.
BE Energy stated that its Urban 24hr rates would increase to 13.33c per kWh (inc. VAT) for the BE Energy Budget Bonus product. This means an increase in standard cost per kWh to 18.51c (inc. VAT) per kWh. However, this standard unit rate remains among the lowest in the market.
Additionally, the electricity price increase will only affect variable price plans and there will be no change for customers who are on fixed price plans.
BE Energy also confirmed that there will be no change to its standing charges.
Pinergy
Electricity supplier Pinergy has also announced an increase in the cost of its residential electricity prices with a scheduled 2.7% increase to come into effect from November 1st.
Taking the increase into account a typical household's estimated annual bill (EAB) will rise by approximately €28 if currently on Pinergy's standard electricity tariff.
Pinergy only recently decreased the price of its electricity by 2.6% in June of this year.
The supplier has also cited transmission and distribution charges recently applied by ESB Networks and Eirgrid as reason for the increase being passed on to its customers.
Pinergy's new 24hr standard rate will be 18.88c (exc. VAT) per kWh, while its daytime and night-time standard rates will become 19.64c and 11.20c (exc. VAT) per kWh respectively.
Pinergy CEO, Enda Gunnell, said:
We regret that we have been forced to increase prices at this time when many of our domestic customers are seeing their consumption increasing with more time being spent at home.”
This price increase is caused by increased electricity market and system costs that are outside of our control. However, we believe that customers can create their own savings by utilising Pinergy’s smart technology and advisory services to more efficiently manage their energy consumption. We are seeing customers enjoy savings through the use of our smart energy technology which allows consumers to better manage their energy usage and reduce waste.
Iberdrola
Last but not least, Iberdrola is the third and final energy supplier to announce an electricity price increase today. Similar to the suppliers above, the change will also come into effect from November 1st.
The leading green energy supplier will increase its standard variable tariff by 3.4% which will add €2.86 on to the average monthly household electricity bill.
However, Iberdrola has confirmed that existing discounts on discounted or renewal electricity tariffs will continue to apply and will not be affected.
Similar to all other dual fuel suppliers, save Flogas who decreased the cost of its gas, Iberdrola's gas prices will remain unchanged.
As part of Iberdrola's offering in the Irish energy market it proactively offers its most competitive tariffs to customers come renewal time and never defaults customers to standard tariffs. Customers can also choose to move to a renewal tariff which provides a 9% discount.
Andrew Ward, CEO Iberdrola Ireland, said:
Our focus has always been on providing our customers with great value green energy that won’t cost the earth – and that’s exactly what we will continue to do.
This will be our first-ever price increase since we entered the Irish market, so it’s not a decision we’ve taken lightly and I’m confident our customers will understand that.
However, due to the increase in the network and system costs energy suppliers must pay, which are completely out of our control, we need to increase our electricity prices from the start of November.
State of the market
Today’s announcement from BE Energy, Pinergy and Iberdrola comes after PrepayPower came out with a 2.9% increase on Friday 4th September, who in turn followed Electric Ireland who were indeed the first supplier to announce an increase in the cost of its domestic electricity.
In better news, Bord Gáis Energy has announced a complete price freeze for customers across both its gas and electricity prices until March of next year, while Flogas dropped its gas prices by 10% this week and froze the price of its electricity until March 2021 too.
Hard-hit consumers
It’s unfortunate, to say the least, that energy companies are choosing to pass on price increases to customers at such a critical financial juncture for many.
Today's announcement also comes on the same day that energy customers are hit with an increase in the PSO levy which will see yet another increase in costs tacked onto bills for customers of both BE Energy, Pinergy and Iberdrola.
All this is not to mention the already challenging financial landscape everyone is exposed to due to Covid-19, and coming into the colder winter months.
Earlier in the week Flogas was praised for dropping its gas prices by 10% for customers while committing to a complete price freeze across its electricity prices until 2021, setting a good example for the remaining suppliers to do the right thing by consumers. However, it remains to be seen how others will react, with six suppliers yet to make any public announcement regarding an increase in costs for suppliers experienced on the Single Electricity Market (SEM).
As we continue to inform consumers of the latest price changes, the one way you can help to ensure you’re not getting over-charged is to...
Switch and save
It’s like we always say, a penny saved is a penny earned and the best way to save a pretty penny is to switch suppliers, especially if you’ve been hit with a price increase in the last number of days, weeks, or months.
You can compare and contrast all the best deals on the market right now using our energy comparison tool here, with the average energy customer saving up to €490 when they switch suppliers with us online.
Switching energy supplier is easy and only takes a few minutes. To make the switch, you only need the following on hand:
- A GPRN number if switching gas and an MPRN number if switching electricity
- A recent meter reading
- A good estimate of how much energy you use
- Some personal details
Read our helpful guide on what you need to switch suppliers for further information.
Before switching, take a look at these 7 important things to consider when switching energy suppliers.
If you’re looking for more information on why energy prices are increasing, take a look at our recent blog post on the topic.
So switch and save with bonkers.ie today and see how much you could save!
