Electricity levy will add almost €25 to the annual bills

A levy which is automatically added to all electricity bills is to go up by more than 30 per cent in a move which will add just under €25 to the annual cost of domestic electricity.

The Commission for Energy Regulation gave the green light to an increase in the Public Service Obligation levy for the year ahead on Friday.

The change will take the cost to €104.74 per year up from €80.30 last year. The increase will come into effect from October 1st and will impact all domestic electricity customers in Ireland.

"The PSO levy is a standard component of all electricity bills, and is a charge all of us have to pay, regardless of our electricity usage," said the managing director of Switcher.ie Eoin Clarke. "Already, the average electricity bill in Ireland stands at €947 per year, so the fact that this PSO Levy change will push this up by another €25 will come as unwelcome news for anyone who is already struggling to pay their energy bills."

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He pointed out that people could fight back by reducing their energy usage by making their home more energy efficient or by moving to the most competitive tariff.

“The electricity market is really competitive at the moment, with discounts of up to 33 per cent available on some plans, and cash-back offers from suppliers, too,” he said.

Last year only 14 per cent of Irish consumers switched electricity supplier which means “the vast majority of us are languishing on higher standard tariffs. Switching only takes a few minutes, and the average electricity customer could save up to €177 by moving from standard tariffs to the cheapest deal on the market, so this would more than cover the cost of the levy increase.”