Iberdrola Ireland becomes latest energy supplier to put up prices again

Electricity prices will rise 24% and gas will go up 11% from May 5th

Spanish utility giant Iberdrola entered the Irish domestic energy market in 2019. Photograph: iStock
Spanish utility giant Iberdrola entered the Irish domestic energy market in 2019. Photograph: iStock

Iberdrola Ireland has become the latest energy supplier to increase its prices, with the Spanish utility giant announcing a 24 per cent increase in electricity and 11 per cent rise in gas prices from May 5th.

This follows price hikes of 9.5 per cent and 15 per cent for electricity and gas implemented by the company on January 1st. That followed a series of increases in 2021.

Iberdrola Ireland said the rises were “reflecting the price pressures caused by high global wholesale energy costs over a sustained period”.

The latest changes will add €33 on to the average monthly household electricity bill and €12 onto the average monthly household gas bill, it said.

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Customers on discounted tariffs will continue to receive their current level of discount, including discounts for paying by direct debit and receiving paperless billing.

“We’re having to respond to the unprecedented conditions in the global energy market,” said Sean O’Loughlin, head of Iberdrola Ireland.

“We’re contacting all our customers to advise them of the forthcoming changes and – as always – our customer services team is on hand to provide support and guidance to customers who may be worrying about the changes or struggling to pay their energy bills.”

The move comes in the wake of a flurry of hefty energy price hikes for consumers and businesses, with Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy, Energia, SSE Airtricity and Prepay Power among those announcing a fresh round of increases in recent weeks.

Iberdrola has been operating in Ireland for two decades through its UK business ScottishPower, which owns several wind farms, but only began selling electricity and gas to domestic customers in 2019.

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics