How does dynamic pricing work?

Dynamic pricing means the price of electricity  changes every half hour. You can see when electricity costs more or less, and choose how and when you use it. It’s designed to be clear, transparent and to better reflect how electricity is generated and used across the grid.

If you’re on the Smart Dynamic tariff, we’ll let you know the half-hourly cost of electricity for the next day, at least 8 hours in advance. This is known as day‑ahead pricing and comes from the Irish electricity day-ahead market. It gives you time to plan, adjust your usage and take advantage of lower‑cost periods where it suits you.

You can view the day-ahead prices here.

What makes up your Smart Dynamic rate

Our Smart Dynamic tariff consists of three components:

• A dynamic unit rate, which changes half‑hourly according to the day-ahead market
• Our base unit rate, a fixed amount charged for each unit of electricity, regardless of the wholesale prices
• A standing charge, a fixed amount charged per day, which covers the costs associated with supplying electricity

You can find more detail in Our Tariffs Explained. Your bill is also subject to PSO levy and VAT.

Smart Dynamic includes important safeguards from wholesale price spikes, such as:

• A price cap, so dynamic half hour unit rates can’t rise beyond set limits. This is set by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) and is currently set at €0.50 per kWh.
• High‑price alerts, to give you a heads‑up when prices are expected to be higher. We’ve a default high price alert of €0.32 per kWh, which you can change if you choose.

These guardrails are there to help you stay informed and in control.

However, please note that Bord Gáis Energy cannot accept responsibility for any unexpected high costs or bills as a result of this tariff

Sign up for Smart Dynamic here.

Track your usage and costs

You can view your past daily half‑hourly usage and costs in your online account, making it easier to understand your electricity use and spot opportunities to save. If you don't have an online account yet, register here.

Here's an example of of what your usage graph will look like:

If you’d like to see the full detail of your cost and usage, you can also download your cost and usage data (BDF). This shows all your half‑hourly usage and pricing data (incl. VAT), including dynamic prices, base unit rates and standing charges, so you can explore exactly how your bill is calculated.

You can download your cost and usage data just below your usage graphs.

Please note: 

If you’ve switched to or from Smart Dynamic, the yearly cost in your online account may look slightly off.

This is because Smart Dynamic shows costs differently to other smart plans. This can make it look like the standing charge is counted twice in the yearly tables. This is a display issue only.

The total cost shown on your bill is correct. Always refer to your bill and BDF for the most accurate cost information.