Panda Power increased its prices in April, June, and August of this year and its latest increase, due to come into effect from 4th October, will be its fourth of 2021 so far.
Another day, another energy price increase (unfortunately)…
Except the latest announcement is breaking new ground, and not in a good way. Renewable energy supplier Panda Power has become the first supplier this year to introduce a fourth price increase. That’s right, its fourth!
If you haven’t been keeping track of the latest energy news, energy prices have been going through the proverbial roof of late and today’s announcement shows there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight, at least not for 2021.
But if you’re a Panda Power customer you must be wondering how the latest hike in the supplier’s prices are going to affect you?
Here are the details in full!
Panda Power’s fourth price increase of the year
Panda Power has announced it will be increasing both its residential gas and electricity prices by 11.3% in a move that will mean it's raised prices four times this year alone.
The significant increase will add €172 to the average customer's annual electricity bill and €130 to gas bills.
The change is set to come into effect from 4th October for all Panda Power customers.
Combining all four increases from the supplier since its first price rise in April, the average Panda Power customer will now be paying almost €500 a year more for their electricity and well over €200 extra for their gas.
Out of Panda Power’s control
Speaking about its fourth increase, Panda Power Managing Director, Brendan Traynor said:
The increase is due to factors beyond our control in providing energy to our customers. The high percentage of generator long-term outages has coincided with a 250% wholesale cost increase over the last 12 months.
Unfortunately, the decision to increase prices is unavoidable in the current environment. We remain committed to offering our customers long-term value and discounted rates each year that they are with us.
Previous price increases
Admittedly, it’s not the best time for consumers when it comes to the cost of energy, with rival supplier Iberdrola having announced a similar price increase earlier in the week.
As alluded to in the above article, there is a mini crisis in the energy market at present as rapidly rising energy prices on wholesale markets are being passed on to consumers by way of higher residential energy prices.
The ongoing closure of two large electricity power plants is also making the situation worse. However, when the Whitegate and Huntstown gas-fired power plants in Cork and Dublin come back into operation this should help to stabilise prices.
That being said, the ongoing rise in prices is unsustainable in the current climate. For more information on why energy prices have been increasing listen back to this radio interview we did in which our Head of Communications at bonkers.ie, Daragh Cassidy broke it down in detail.
In case you missed it, you can also read up on what’s been happening in the world of energy and why exactly energy prices are increasing here.
However, like we always say at bonkers.ie, the only way to save money and stick it to your supplier is by switching once you’re out of contract.
Save by switching on bonkers.ie
For those willing to switch energy suppliers, you can save up to 40% off standard rates for the first 12 months with some deals. This means the average household could save up to €500 annually on their energy bills!
It’s quick and easy to switch energy supplier and can all be done on bonkers.ie in the space of a few minutes. Use our energy comparison tool to compare the best deals today across all 14 energy suppliers nationwide.
If you’re seeking advice when it comes to switching, have a look at our guide on 7 things to consider when switching energy supplier or check out the most common questions we get asked about the energy switching process here.
Get in touch
Are you a Panda Power customer? If so, are you surprised by today’s news? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
If you have any questions about Panda Power’s price increase or switching energy supplier, you can contact us on social media. We’re on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
