Wholesale electricity prices fell a further 10 per cent in the year to July, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The agency’s latest wholesale price barometer noted that wholesale electricity prices here have now fallen by 74 per cent since the August 2022 peak.
Energy prices, which had increased significantly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, spiked in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, reaching a peak in August that year.
Prices rose by 195 per cent between August 2021 and August 2022, with the wholesale price of electricity peaking at almost €400 per MWh (Megawatt Hour) versus an average of about €38 per MWh in 2020.
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The knock-on impact on consumers here was significant.
The faster-than-expected softening of inflation in the Republic and across the euro area in the past 18 months has been driven almost entirely by falling energy prices.
Headline inflation in the economy here was 1.7 per cent in July, less than the European Central Bank’s 2 per cent target rate.
While wholesale prices have come down, not all of the price reduction is being passed on to consumers.
The ESB’s retail arm, Electric Ireland, the largest Irish supplier, has reduced prices three times in the last 18 months, but consumers are still paying nearly 70 per cent more than they were before the pandemic.
Part of the problem is the State’s reliance on imported natural gas, which keeps energy prices high. The Republic relies on imported gas for approximately half of its energy needs.
Why is Ireland not considered a truly rich country?
The State was found to be the third most expensive country in the European Union for electricity, gas and fuel, with prices more than 17 per cent above the average, according to the latest country-by-country price comparison statistics from Eurostat.
Online retailer Amazon blamed a recent decision not to proceed with a €300 million investment in Dublin, which would have employed more than 500 people, on energy supply concerns.
The latest CSO figures indicate that domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 1 per cent higher in July 2025 compared with a year earlier, while producer prices for exported goods were down by 3.9 per cent.
Producer prices for food products, however, increased by 4 per cent in the 12 months to July, while the food products, beverages and tobacco index was up by 2.9 per cent.
While headline inflation has come down in many sectors, food prices are still rising at elevated levels.
Grocery price inflation in the Republic jumped to almost 5 per cent in July, nearly three times the rate of overall inflation, keeping pressure on households.
The latest CSO numbers highlight some of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months.
They include: dairy products (up 11.1 per cent); meat and meat products (up 6.7 per cent); and vegetables and animal oils and fats (down 16.2 per cent).
The CSO noted its all materials index for construction products reduced by 0.2 per cent in July but rose by 0.4 per cent in the 12 months since July 2024.
