Pinergy will become the latest supplier to increase its prices as the global energy crisis deepens.
The supplier is increasing the unit price of its electricity by 18% from 5th September.
However it is also increasing its daily prepay meter charge by 24% and its daily standing charge by 30%.
Prepay customers with all suppliers pay an additional charge for their prepay meter as well as the daily standing charge all normal billpay customers pay.
The move will impact around 27,000 customers.
The increase will add around €375 a year to the average customer’s electricity bill
This is Pinergy’s first price increase of the year. However it raised its prices five times in 2021, the last of which was in December, when it upped the price of its electricity by 19%.
When all price increases since the start of 2021 are taken into account, Pinergy customers are paying around €1,150 more for their electricity.
Today’s news had been expected given the continued record price of gas on wholesale markets due largely to the continuing war in Ukraine.
Last year there were over 35 price hike announcements from Irish energy suppliers and the trend has continued into this year with all suppliers announcing massive price hikes.
Commenting on the news, Daragh Cassidy, Head of Communications at bonkers.ie says:
“Today’s news was expected unfortunately given all the recent price increases that we’ve seen and the continued elevated cost of gas on wholesale markets. However it doesn’t make the news any easier to digest.
“As just a supplier of electricity, Pinergy is making no money from generating electricity, so is highly exposed to rising energy prices.
“We’re heading into this winter with energy prices at absolutely astronomical levels and it’s set to get worse. It’s likely we’ll see another round of price hikes in a few weeks.
“Since January 2021, the average electricity bill has gone up by around €900 a year and the average gas bill by around €800.
“The Government needs to decide now how it plans to help households over the coming months. Is the temporary reduction in VAT being kept? Is another energy credit going to be paid? Is the Government going to place a windfall tax on energy companies – and if so, how would this even work when many are headquartered overseas?”
