Bord Gáis Energy to increase gas & electricity prices for first time in over 3 years
Bord Gáis Energy to increase gas and electricity prices for first time in over three years
Changes driven by significant increases in wholesale energy costs and increased costs of distributing gas and electricity
29th September 2017
Bord Gáis Energy has today announced the company’s first price increase for residential customers in three years. Today’s announcement will increase a typical gas bill by €2.12 a month and a typical electricity bill by €4.77 a month. Over the past three years, Bord Gáis Energy was the only supplier in Ireland to cut both gas and electricity prices three times, reducing a typical dual fuel customer’s bill by €121 per year.
The changes, which will take effect from 1st November 2017, are due to significant increases in the wholesale cost of energy as well as higher costs associated with distributing energy on the gas and electricity networks.
In percentage terms, the increase represents 3.4% in a typical customer’s gas bill and an increase of 5.9% in a typical customer’s electricity bill.
Dave Kirwan, Managing Director, Bord Gáis Energy said;
“Bord Gáis Energy regrets having to increase its prices for the first time in three years. Unfortunately, there are a number of factors outside of our control which have led to this decision. Continued increases in wholesale energy costs this winter, as well as the recent increases to the costs of distributing energy on the network, have forced us to raise our prices.”
“It was a difficult decision to come to, and we have worked hard to minimise the increase as much as possible. We are committed to offering customers the best value for money that we can. If and when the market factors change, we will ensure our customers once again see the benefit of reduced prices.”
"We remain committed to giving our residential customers great value. This includes offering them an ongoing discount of up to 7% on gas and electricity when they pay by direct debit and opt for paperless billing."
Bord Gáis Energy offers customers additional savings on their household bills through its Rewards Club. Currently the Bord Gáis Energy Rewards Club has over 290,000 members and to date, customers have saved over €9 million.
In addition, Bord Gáis Energy offers a range of energy saving devices, including Hive Active Heating which allows customers to control their heating and hot water from their phone or tablet, helping them to manage their home energy consumption more efficiently and reduce their bills.