Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

My clear message to energy suppliers is that prices for customers should be reduced at the earliest opportunity. Unprecedented increases in energy prices since the outbreak of war in Ukraine have led the Government to take sustained action over the past year to support households and businesses to meet cost of living challenges. Direct measures to reduce energy bills included the €800 in total of energy credits between April 2022 and April 2023, reductions in VAT and the temporary business support scheme, TBSS.

Electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European regulatory regime wherein these markets are commercial, liberalised and competitive, with the market being overseen by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, CRU. As part of its role the CRU is monitoring the implementation of the strengthened consumer protection measures put in place for this winter.

Wholesale energy prices reached peak levels in August of last year, when wholesale gas prices were 706% higher than January 2021 while wholesale electricity prices increased by 463%. While wholesale gas prices have fallen dramatically and are currently well below the peak values of last year, they are still trading at twice their pre-pandemic levels. Retail gas and electricity prices, based on an estimated annual bill, are 107% higher for gas and 90% for electricity this June compared to June 2021. The difference in the volatility of wholesale and retail prices demonstrates the importance of supplier hedging strategies and the extent to which these strategies shield consumers against the full extent of this unprecedented international energy market volatility.

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