Householders to get €100 off electricity bills by end of March

All householders in the State are to get €100 off their electricity bills by the end of March under plans to be discussed by Ministers on Tuesday.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan is to bring a memo to Cabinet on the Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measure Bill.

The Irish Times understands that the Bill is to be brought into the Dáil in February with the goal of having it passed by the Oireachtas by the end of that month.

It is expected that all domestic electricity account-holders will benefit from the cut in March. The €100 credit is to be applied excluding VAT so the total benefit to the account holder will be €113.50.

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In a small number of cases where a tenant’s landlord pays utility bills, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) will be tasked with handling disputes by any renters who do not see the saving passed on to them.

The plan for the €100 credit for all households is part of the Government’s response to spiralling energy costs. Rising prices of natural gas, used to generate more than half of the Republic’s electricity, combined with low wind speeds and temporary power plant shutdowns drove up electricity costs in the State last year. Most energy suppliers announced multiple price hikes last year,

Separately, the Cabinet is also expected to be briefed by Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath on last year’s expenditure by the State.

At the end of December overall gross expenditure by Government Departments and agencies stood at €87.5 billion. That was €1.4 billion below the full year allocation for 2021.

Pandemic spending has a significant impact on spending with some €13.5 billion provided for measures during the year.