• Residential electricity bills will increase by 8% and residential gas bills will increase by 7.7%
• The conflict in the Middle East has resulted in significant upward price pressure on wholesale energy markets
• This is the first time Electric Ireland has increased prices since October 2022; in the intervening period, the company delivered three gas price reductions, two electricity price reductions, and froze electricity prices last winter – at a time when most other suppliers increased prices
• While Electric Ireland’s hedging strategies have mitigated rising wholesale prices to date, unfortunately it is now necessary to increase retail prices
• Electric Ireland understands the impact this may have on customers and continues to have a range of support measures in place, including flexible payment plans, PAYG meters, and energy saving advice
  

Electric Ireland has today (Thursday, 28 May 2026) announced plans to increase residential electricity prices by 8% and residential gas prices by 7.7%, effective from July 1st, 2026. 

Residential electricity bills will increase by 8% based on the estimated annual bill as defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). For the average household, this equates to €2.66 per week or €11.52 per month for customers on the average standard tariff.

Residential gas bills will increase by 7.7%, equating to €2.25 per week or €9.73 per month on the average gas bill, based on the estimated annual bill as defined by the CRU. 

This is the first time Electric Ireland has increased prices since October 2022, despite recent pressures in wholesale energy markets due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The company delivered price reductions in 2023 and 2024, introduced a 4% gas price reduction in September 2025, and held electricity prices steady for 1.1 million customers over the last winter period - at a time when most other suppliers increased prices. These decisions delivered total average savings of 19.3% (excluding VAT and PSO levy) on residential electricity and 23.6% (excluding VAT and carbon tax) on residential gas.

Electric Ireland has a comprehensive hedging strategy in place which has limited the impact of rising wholesale energy prices to date.  However, as our wholesale energy costs have increased significantly, it is now necessary to increase retail prices for our customers.

Electric Ireland continues to have one of the lowest Electricity Standard Variable Tariffs (SVT) on the market.

Commenting on the announcement, Pat Fenlon, Executive Director, Electric Ireland said:

“The conflict in the Middle East continues to drive volatility in wholesale energy costs which have increased significantly. Last winter, we acted to protect our customers by reducing gas prices and holding electricity rates steady during the period of highest demand, while most other suppliers increased their prices. The current change represents the first price increase since October 2022; unfortunately, we cannot delay this increase any further due to the sustained upward price pressure on our wholesale energy costs.

“We understand that many customers face challenges with ongoing cost of living pressures. Supporting our customers continues to be our priority.  Electric Ireland remains committed to providing competitive value to our customers with one of the lowest Electricity Standard Variable Tariffs in the market. We have always sought to manage prices in a careful and considered way, with a clear focus on protecting our customers wherever possible.

“Alongside our pricing decisions, we are providing a range of supports, including access to Electric Ireland’s Compassionate Assistance fund, flexible payment options, and energy efficiency advice to help customers better manage their bills.”

Electric Ireland has a range of supports in place for customers with financial challenges including flexible payment plans, PAYG meters, in addition to smart meter tariffs with monthly billing option and energy saving advice. 

In addition, Electric Ireland implemented a Compassionate Assistance Fund to provide direct financial relief to eligible customers via their electricity or gas account in conjunction with Electric Ireland’s partners MABS and Alone.  

Electric Ireland will notify all residential customers with registered contact details of the price change by email and text message in line with CRU requirements.

Notes to Editor

Electric Ireland is the retail supply business in ESB Group. Due to legal and regulatory requirements Electric Ireland must operate as a separate identity to ESB’s other business units.

How is the price increase broken down in customer bills?

Electricity

1. Customers will see their average electricity bill increase by 8% including PSO and VAT based on the estimated annual bill as defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). This equates to €2.66 per week / €11.52 per month / €138.26 per year
2. Customers will see their electricity unit rate increase by 9.5% 
3. There is no change to the electricity standing charge
4. PSO Levy remains the same at €1.46 per month
5. VAT is calculated at the current, reduced rate, of 9%

Gas

1. Customers will see their average gas bill increase by 7.7% including Carbon Tax and VAT based on the estimated annual bill as defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). This equates to €2.25 per week / €9.73 per month / €116.78 per year
2. Customers will see their gas unit rate increase by 9.5% 
3. There is no change to the gas standing charge
4. Carbon tax is €126.28 per year
5. VAT is calculated at the current, reduced rate, of 9%

Customer Supports

At Electric Ireland, we remain very conscious of the cost of living challenges facing many of our customers and provide a range of initiatives to support customers. We’ve implemented a programme of targeted activities.

This includes: 

1. Compassionate Assistance Fund: A Compassionate Assistance Fund has been established. Electric Ireland works with key partners such as MABS and Alone to identify appropriate financially struggling customers and provide them with direct financial relief via their electricity or gas account.

2. Incentivising Smart Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) and Instalment Plans: We have introduced a number of incentive programmes to encourage both Smart PAYG and regular payment plan adoption among customers who are currently in arrears. For more information see ‘Electric Ireland's Customer Support Hub’   

3. Energy Cost Education: An energy education campaign is in place and actively promoted. We have provided information to support customers to better understanding of the costs of household appliances and provide guidance and advice to help our customers better manage their bills. Customers seeking information on products and services which may help reduce their energy consumption can visit the ‘Electric Ireland Net Zero Hub’, for information on smart meter plans, EV tariffs, solar panels and more. 
4. Customer Care: We have reviewed our customer care agents’ ability to engage with and support financially vulnerable customers and rolled out enhanced training with our customer care agents to better support financially vulnerable customers.   

Additional support

In addition to the measures outlined above, each month we work with customers to put in place manageable payment plans, disconnections are only as a last resort for customers who do not engage with Electric Ireland to address their overdue bills. 

Electric Ireland engages with all its residential customers who experience difficulty paying their bills in line with the voluntary industry ‘Energy Engage Code’.

Electric Ireland works with Fuel Poor customers who sign up to the An Post Household Budget Scheme as a way to pay their energy bills and applies a 5% discount.       

We are strong supporters of key industry initiatives such as the Free Solar for Medically Vulnerable scheme and EnergyCloud, and we continue to invest in building out practical advisory resources including our online Net Zero Hub to help our customers navigate Net Zero products such as solar and EVs.    

We encourage any Electric Ireland customers who have difficulty paying their energy bill to contact us and we will work with them to put a payment plan in place.  

The Electric Ireland Customer Support Team is available to assist our customers on Freephone: 1800 372 372 from 8.00am – 8.00pm, Monday to Friday, and 9.00am – 5.30pm on Saturday, or by emailing: service@electricieland.ie.

New Rates effective from 1 July 2026