By comparing electricity prices and switching to the cheapest deal, households can save significant amounts of money. An average usage household could save €278 in just 12 months on electricity bills.
The electricity switching market in Ireland is very competitive. Most of the energy suppliers regularly have special offers, discount codes or cashback promotions. Figures from the CRU show that many thousands of people in Ireland have never switched electricity supplier – (about 35% of all households).
Prior to 2011 the only domestic electricity provider in Ireland was Electric Ireland. However, after the deregulation of electricity in 2011, consumers can now chhose from several suppliers such as Energia, BE Energy, SSE Airtricity, Panda or Bord Gais Energy.
Who has the Best Electricity Deal in Ireland in September 2020 ?
At the middle of September 2020 we compared electricity prices in Ireland for new customers and this is what we found:
| Annual Electricity Usage | Cheapest Provider (Over 1st Year) | Next Best |
|---|---|---|
| High (6000kWh) | Energia - €968 | BE Energy €992 |
| Medium (4200 kWh) | Energia - €735 | Bright €745 |
| Low (3000 kWH) | BE Energy €554 | Bright €567 |
For Higher Electricity Usage:
Generally speaking, electricity usage will be higher in larger homes with four or more occupants.
However, some smaller households that use electricity for both heating and hot water will also have higher electricity usage. Electricity consumption of 6000 kwH per year might be typical for high usage households.
Currently, the best switching deal for higher usage homes is with Energia through the Energia website.
Their offer is 41% off standard electricity rates for 12 months and €25 cashback. This will work out at €968 in the first year.
The second best switching deal for higher usage households is with BE Energy – their 28% discount deal works out at €992 in year one
Medium Usage
For medium-sized homes that probably use gas, oil or solid fuel to provide heating and hot water, an annual electricity usage of about 4200 Kwh a year would be typical. (This is the average national usage.)
Energia‘s best current deal will work out at €735 over 12 months including the €30 cashback. You can only get this offer using promo code ELEC41 on the Energia Website
A new company, Bright , has a rate that works out at €745 in year one.
Glow Power has a reduced rate for a year which works out at €752 in year one.
Best for Low Electricity Usage :
Smaller households will use less electricity. Typical usage for a 1 or 2 person household that doesn’t use electricity for heating might be 3000kwh per year.
Newcomer BE Energy has a €200 cashback offer which works out as the best deal for 3000Kwh at €554 in year one.
The second best deal for lower usage is from newcomer Bright which works out at €567 in year one.
In all cases – after the first 12 months, households should always compare electricity prices and look into switching again to obtain the best deal.
See a Summary of the Cheapest Average Usage Electricity prices here
When comparing electricity prices we always include cashback offers in the calculations. However, some comparison sites don’t automatically include these cashback offers. For this reason, do not assume that the deal shown at the top of a comparison site is actually the cheapest one available.
As you can see, cashback offers can make a big difference when comparing electricity prices – especially for lower usage households.
Important – If you also have natural gas you should check our Dual Fuel Price Comparison
Ultimately you should be planning on switching your energy supplier every 12 months to take advantage of all these special offers. If you don’t switch, your provider will just put you back on their standard rates after the first year.
Switching only takes a few minutes – and as we have shown it can easily save you in the region of €230 just on electricity bills over a year.
Figures correct 21st Sept 2020
Electricity Saving Tips from the SEAI