Price hiking trend confirmed! Panda Power has become the second energy supplier to announce an imminent price increase after Flogas did the same last week. This is the second volley of price hikes we’ve seen this year, after eight out of 10 suppliers increased prices over the summer.
From November 5th, Panda Power will increase its electricity and gas costs by 11.1%. The change in prices will mean that a typical household dual fuel bill for customers not on a discounted rate will increase by €3.35 per week (€174.20 per year)
For single fuel customers, an average electricity bill will increase by €1.91 per week while a typical gas bill will rise by €1.44 per week. These rises will be significantly lower for customers on discounted plans.
The second price increase from Panda Power in just a handful of months
Panda Power increased its electricity and gas prices back at the beginning of August by 5.9% and 5% respectively. Those increases added a combined average of €80 to average annual dual fuel bills and with this new increase taken into account, from November 5th Panda Power customers will be paying an extra €254 on average, annually than they would have been at the beginning of the summer.
Panda Power states that the increases come as a result of an increase in transmission charges and because of continual rising wholesale energy costs.
Commenting on the increase, Panda Power Managing Director Brendan Traynor stated that “While we have done everything we can to offset the effect of market volatility on our customers, ongoing conditions have made it necessary to revisit our pricing structure in line with increasing transmission and wholesale energy costs which are unfortunately outside of our control."
Will the other energy suppliers follow suit?
As mentioned above, eight out of Ireland’s ten energy suppliers raised prices over the summer and now it looks like history is repeating itself, with the same suppliers who hiked prices before beginning a new round of price increases.
Wholesale gas prices are 55% more expensive year on year, which unfortunately means that suppliers are obliged to increase residential prices in response. For a more detailed explanation as to why prices are continuing to rise, check out this guide we wrote over the summer.
Is there any way to avoid the price increases?
It’s not all doom and gloom and there is still some good value to be found out there.
Electricity customers will be glad to hear that the PSO Levy decreased by 56% at the beginning of August, taking a few euro off of your electricity bills every month at the very least!
In terms of suppliers offering good value; just last week Bord Gáis Energy launched brand new and exclusive to bonkers.ie offers on both electricity-only and dual fuel bundles.
If Bord Gáis Energy isn’t your cup of tea, remember that nearly all of the suppliers on the market offer great, year-long discounts to new customers that help to save hundreds on annual bills.
Run a quick comparison now and see how much you could save with just a few clicks!
