Flogas will increase gas prices by 3.3% on December 1st - the fifth supplier to announce a price hike in as many weeks.
Flogas has joined the energy price-increase frenzy.
Hikes from SSE Airtricity and Bord Gáis Energy take effect today while Energia and Electric Ireland are set to increase electricity prices on December 1st and February 1st, respectively.
And now Flogas has announced that it too increase prices for existing customers, just weeks after it launched a market-leading discount for new customers.
Flogas’ price increase
Flogas will increase its gas prices by 3.3% on December 1st, which will add about €20 to annual bills of customers with average consumption.
The supplier’s new unit rate will be 5.06 cent (ex VAT) and its standing charge will remain unchanged.
Customers with average consumption currently pay around €748 for a year of gas with the supplier.
Why is Flogas increasing prices?
Flogas has cited rising wholesale gas prices as the main driver behind the pending price increase.
Wholesale gas prices increased by 50% in September, compared to last year.
The unexpected outage at Corrib gas field last September, the strengthening sterling to euro ratio and various issues at gas fields across Europe are what has caused this surge.
Five hikes in less than five weeks
Since September 29th, five of Ireland’s suppliers have announced price increases, after three years of nothing but price freezes and reductions.
As mentioned, SSE Airtricity, Bord Gáis Energy, Electric Ireland and Energia have all announced price hikes over the last few weeks.
However, Flogas is only the second supplier to increase gas prices - along with Bord Gáis Energy. Increases from SSE Airtricity, Electric Ireland and Energia will only affect electricity customers.
All suppliers have cited increased wholesale gas prices as the main cause of the increases.
How to beat the hikes
Energy prices are clearly on the rise, but customers can take action to avoid the hikes - and even save money in the process.
There are now 10 energy suppliers in the Irish market and many of them are offering significant sign-up incentives to customers who switch.
There are discounts in excess of 30% and cashback of up to €175 on offer to new customers at the moment. Average customers will save a substantial €360 by switching today.
