CONSUMERS and small business will make savings on their electricity bills from January while gas prices will not increase further, the State's energy watchdog said yesterday.
Falling oil prices on world markets, rebates of €300 million from the ESB, the State energy company, and an €8.5 million clawback from Bord Gáis Éireann (BGÉ) mean that consumers will not be hit with further energy price hikes from January.
The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) announced that the State energy company, the ESB, would cut prices charged to the Republic's 1.7 million households and its small business customers by just under 1 per cent in the new year.
At the same time, Bord Gáis Éireann, which supplies natural gas to over 500,000 homes as well as to a range of small businesses, will not increase its prices any further from January.
The regulator allowed both State companies to increase their charges substantially in the autumn as oil and gas prices hit record highs on world markets.
The ESB increased its prices by 17.5 per cent in the autumn, bringing the average domestic bill to about €155.
In July, the regulator gave BGÉ the go-ahead to increase its charges by 20 per cent, adding €13.75 a month to the average household gas bill, which now stands at €907 a year.
BGÉ subsequently sought to add a further 3.9 per cent to its prices to cope with continuing high fuel costs on world markets. The ESB wanted to add 5.6 per cent to its charges for the same reason.
However, a turnaround in oil and gas prices meant that these increases were no longer needed.
Commenting on the CER decision, the ESB said that the price cut was in line with the approach it suggested to the CER as fossil fuel prices fell. The company also pointed out that a €300 million rebate to consumers, which the regulator sought from it, contributed to the fact that it did not need to increase its prices.
Oil fell below $50 a barrel yesterday as members of Opec, the cartel to which most of the main producing companies belong, failed to agree on a production cut.
