What is the PSO payment?

The Public Service Obligation (PSO) Levy is a government mandated levy which supports the generation of electricity from sustainable, renewable and indigenous sources.

For the first time in many years, due to unprecedented and sustained high wholesale electricity prices, the PSO fund requirement for PSO Year 2022/23 is negative (- €491.25 million). A “negative PSO” results in a payment to, rather than a charge on, final customers.

For the 2022/23 payment period, monthly PSO payments will be paid to electricity customers from 1 March 2023. Residential customers will receive a monthly payment of €12.73 to their electricity account, for a period of seven months.

See the table below for a breakdown of each customer category.

PSO Customer Category

PSO Customer Category

2022/23 PSO Payment Amount

2022/23 PSO Payment Amount

Pro-Rated PSO Payment Amount (for 7 months)

Pro-Rated PSO Payment Amount (for 7 months)

PSO Customer Category

Domestic

2022/23 PSO Payment Amount

€89.10

Pro-Rated PSO Payment Amount (for 7 months)

€12.73

PSO Customer Category

Small Commercial (MIC < 30 kVA)

2022/23 PSO Payment Amount

€311.51

Pro-Rated PSO Payment Amount (for 7 months)

€44.50

PSO Customer Category

Medium/Large Commercial (MIC ≥ to 30 kVA)

2022/23 PSO Payment Amount

€37.82 / kVA

Pro-Rated PSO Payment Amount (for 7 months)

€5.40 / kVA

You don’t need to do anything to receive the payment - the PSO payment will be reflected on your  bill. The date you receive your payment will depend on your billing cycle. If you haven’t received your first PSO Payment by 1 May 2023, please contact us.

If you move your electricity supply to or from Bord Gáis Energy, the monthly PSO payment will be paid by the supplier who you’re registered with at the end of the month. From a customer perspective, this process will happen automatically, so you don’t need to do anything.

Pay As You Go Customers

For PAYG customers, the PSO payment will be credited daily to your prepayment meter. This will be implemented by deducting the PSO payment from the daily electricity standing charge from 1 March 2023, until 30 September 2023.

For example, for the period of March 2023, a 31-day month, the PSO payment is paid as a €0.41 cent deduction off the daily standard charge. This is an equivalent to a monthly credit of €12.73.

For more information, see cru.ie.