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  • Mary Holland
  • 5 min read

Energy prices in 2022 continue to make headlines and highlight Ireland's dependence on internationally sourced fossil fuels for our energy demands.

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Every six months, statisticians at SEAI perform a deep-dive assessment of electricity and natural gas prices, in line with the reporting obligations set out by the European Price Regulation (EU 2016/1952).

SEAI's latest energy price assessment details price changes and European rankings in the second half of 2021 and provide key context for the ongoing price increases observed in 2022.

To fully capture the energy costs experienced by consumers, SEAI uses something known as effective unit prices. Effective unit prices sum all relevant costs associated with energy - standing charges, unit charges, taxes, and levies - to identify the true effective price that consumers are paying per unit of energy they use.

The value of the effective unit price is typically higher (and more representative) than the unit price we usually see on our bills and supplier advertisements, because it includes and spreads any fixed charges, like standing charges, over each unit of energy we consume. Effective unit prices also implicitly account for the various discounts, sign-up offers, and loyalty deals offered to customers - they are the most robust and representative way of expressing energy prices with single numbers.

Household Energy Prices

The weighted average effective unit price for household electricity in the second half of 2021 was 28.2c/kWh, up 13.2% on the previous 12-months. This average household price was summed and weighted across the consumption in all Irish homes, from tiny holiday cottages occupied for a few months per year, to large stately mansions.

To help distinguish these extremes, SEAI's carries out a consumption band analysis to better understand the distribution of energy consumption in Ireland. We find that almost half (44.7%) of all residential electricity is consumed in something called the DD-band, which is defined as a home consuming between 5 and 15 MWh of electricity every year. The DD-band is therefore the most representative band for a typical Irish home. In this DD-band, consumers pay 25.3 c/kWh for their electricity and saw a 10.6% price increase over the previous 12-months. Compared to European counterparts also consuming in the DD-band, Irish households paid the 3rd highest price for their electricity (out of the 27 member states).

The weighted average effective unit price for household gas in the second half of 2021 was 7.9 c/kWh, up 12.1% on the previous 12-months. By far the most representative band for household gas is the D2-band, which is defined as a home consuming between 20 and 200 GJ of gas every year. 93% of Irish household gas consumption occurs in this band, with these consumers paying 7.8 c/kWh and experiencing a 11.7% increase on the previous 12-months. Irish households in the D2-band paid the 8th highest price for their gas, compared to their European D2-band counterparts.

The value of the effective unit price is typically higher (and more representative) than the unit price we usually see on our bills and supplier advertisements, because it includes and spreads any fixed charges, like standing charges, over each unit of energy we consume. Effective unit prices also implicitly account for the various discounts, sign-up offers, and loyalty deals offered to customers - they are the most robust and representative way of expressing energy prices with single numbers.

Business Energy Prices

Unlike household energy prices, business prices are quoted ex VAT, because VAT is ultimately payable by the final consumer of a good or service, not the business itself.

The weighted average effective unit price for business electricity in the second half of 2021 was 18.9c/kWh, up 40.6% on the previous 12-months. The effective unit price varies considerably across the seven bands that are needed to breakdown the huge variation in business consumption, which spans local corner-shops, to pharmaceutical plants, to data centres.

Across all consumption bands, the electricity prices paid by Irish business consumers are amongst the highest in Europe, ranking 1st to 4th out of 27, depending on the band. Irish business consumers in the very highest consumption IG-band (>150 GWh) pay the highest price in Europe, when compared to their European counterparts in the IG-band. Business consumers in the IG-band (who account for 24.1% of all business electricity consumption in Ireland) experienced a 118.5% price increase on the previous 12-months.

The average effective unit price for business gas in the second half of 2021 was 5.4 c/kWh, up 77.2% on the previous 12-months. The most representative consumption band for business gas is the I4-band (100-1000 TJ), where 43.4% of business gas is consumed. In this band, business consumers paid 4.5 c/kWh and experienced a 121.4% increase on the previous 12-months. Despite more than doubling, the price experienced by I4-band business gas consumers is mid-table, when compared to their European counterparts, ranking 12th of the 27 member states.

Key Energy Price Statistics

  1. Business energy prices increased significantly in 2021 - weighted average energy prices were up by 40.6% and 77.2% on the previous 12-months for electricity and gas, respectively. Price increases in certain consumption bands were significantly greater than the weighted average increases, doubling in some cases.
  2. Business consumers of gas in the I4-band (which is the most representative, accounting for 43.4% of business gas consumption in Ireland) experienced a 121.4% price increase on the previous 12-months.
  3. The price of electricity for both household and business consumers in Ireland are amongst the highest in Europe, typically ranking 2nd to 4th out of the 27 EU member states, depending on the consumption band.
  4. Household energy prices for electricity and gas were up by 12.1% and 13.2% on the previous 12-months, respectively.

Further Reading

You can find a one page detailed breakdown of 2021 prices, changes, EU ranking, and market-share of different consumption bands here. SEAI will soon publish a full 2021 Energy Price report. In the meantime, you can read the 2020 Energy Price report here.

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Mary Holland |Programme Executive - Energy Statistics

Mary Holland is the senior energy statistician for the Energy Statistics Team at SEAI, which acts as the definitive source of energy statistics for Ireland, and satisfies many of Ireland's international reporting obligations on energy.