SSE Airtricity has become the first supplier to increase the cost of its energy in 2021.
It’s been a while since energy customers have had to bear the brunt of an energy price increase but I’m afraid to say it’s that time again, sadly.
This time round it’s renewable energy supplier SSE Airtricity, which has announced that it'll be increasing its standard household energy prices, making it the first supplier to do so in 2021.
From April 1st (no joke!) it's increasing its electricity prices by 6.2%, while gas is going up by 4.5%.
The electricity increase will mean an extra €1.21 tacked on to the average customer’s bill per week, while the gas price increase will result in an extra €0.62 per week on average.
In other words, the increase will add around €63 to the average household’s annual electricity bill and €32 to the average annual gas bill.
Meanwhile, a typical household dual fuel bill will increase by 5.5% on average, or €1.84 per week, according to the energy supplier.
Attributing the price increase to increased network transmission charges, David Manning, Director of Home Energy at SSE Airtricity, said:
Pass-through charges are outside our control and unfortunately have increased considerably - including electricity network and market charges.
With our winter price freeze we did everything we could to minimise the impact of these increases on customers and, as we have done in the past, we will pass on any future decreases as soon as we can.
SSE Airtricity has a longstanding history of supporting our customers and the communities in which we operate. Throughout the pandemic we have worked hard to help our customers including payment plans, a moratorium on disconnections and our community fund support. As always, we’d encourage anyone who needs help with their energy bills to contact us and we will work with you to find a solution together.
Change in prices
As intimated in the above statement, an increase in the costs associated with the upkeep of the electricity and gas networks, as well as increased market charges, are the main reasons for the price increase for customers. Electric Ireland cited similar reasons when it increased the price of its electricity by 3.4% in October of last year.
However, it is worth noting that this is the first time that SSE Airtricity has increased its prices for customers since 2018.
In the summer of 2018 it increased its electricity and gas prices by 6.4% and 12.3% respectively, with another increase of 6.3% and 6.9% in the winter months.
The renewable energy supplier however announced a price reduction in the summer of 2020 of -2.7% for its electricity and -11.5% for gas.
Additionally, SSE also implemented a price freeze for customers throughout the winter months of 2020 through to 2021 despite some suppliers such as Electric Ireland as outlined above increasing theirs.
Also worth noting is that customers who are on SSE Airtricity’s most popular dual fuel tariff will continue paying less for their energy than they were at this time last year.
SSE Airtricity has approximately 250,000 electricity customers and 85,000 gas customers in Ireland however, so the price hike will be felt by a large number of households unfortunately.
The increase also comes at a time when energy use at home has probably never been higher due to ongoing Level 5 measures in place and when many might be struggling financially due to losing their job, although heading into the warmer period of the year will do well to keep household energy costs down generally.
Recent energy price news
Since SSE Airtricity announced its price increase, many other suppliers followed suit. Here’s a recap of the price increase so far this year:
- SSE Airtricity announced in July that it would once again be increasing prices from 1st September.
- Take a look at this blog on Bord Gáis Energy’s recent price increase to see a full list of all the supplier price increases this year.
- To learn more about why energy prices are increasing check out our detailed blog on the topic here.
You can stay up to date on the latest energy news with our blogs and guides.
Switch and save
Households looking to offset the price increase should know that the quickest and easiest way to do so is to compare suppliers and switch to a cheaper supplier in the market.
At the moment someone who is paying standard rates and who switches suppliers could save themselves around €500 a year on average. It’s super quick and easy to switch 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.
For more information before you make the switch, consider taking a look at some of our helpful energy articles:
- Our frequently asked questions about switching energy supplier will help make it as easy as possible for you to switch.
- Here’s a list of 7 important things to keep in mind when looking into switching.
- Becoming familiar with these 10 important switching terms will make the energy switching experience less daunting.
Let's hear from you
What do you think of the price increase from SSE Airtricity? Would you consider switching to save? Let us know!
If you have any questions on SSE Airtricity’s price increase or switching energy suppliers, we’d be happy to help! Comment below or get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
