Electric Ireland raising prices again, where will it stop?

fits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577650#Comment_119577650

We have one - bought for camping but could come in useful alright. 😀. We actually do have a stove too but we never light it. I don’t like it’s effect on the indoor air quality. It’s air sealed but you still need to open it to put wood in.

Graces7

Great.. as long as you do not seal the room off the stove is safe. Here there are ventilation grates and you can fit carbon monoxide detectors very easily. My solid fuel stove is in the kitchen and that door is always open to the corridor.

I have used only solid fuel heating for over 30 years and never a problem. But then I am forever opening the door for the cats.

NB anyone switching to solid fuel needs to check on that.

I worked in the sector for years. Now, the price increases are horrendous - 20-odd cent two years ago to 40-odd per unit of electricity soon is really shocking. But there is some right bullsh1t and scaremongering by the media, and it's loving it.

There is talk of people freezing to death. There aren't disconnections in the winter, unless the property is vacant - or unless someone is REALLY taking the piss, and hasn't paid anything for years. You need to heat your home. Stay in touch with your billing company - they will set up a payment plan for you. The more communicative with them you are, the better. Although do expect long phone and email queues, so contact them early. Don't give them grief about the delays - they're short-staffed because people don't want to work there, and would you blame them.

But they're on sh1t wages (they're not working for the ESB, the work is outsourced to a third party, and they are not getting staff discounts!) so they'll be struggling to get by too. They'll also be needing payment plans. They will empathise (although if you're a prick to them, their empathy will dissipate, and again, who'd blame them). They know the can't pays from the won't pays.

Also, there's all this talk on the media of bills being thousands, which doesn't even make sense. This increase, exorbitant as it is, would have to be several hundred percent to bring a bill which was in the hundreds to the thousands. If your bill from December to February last year was €250 and you use the exact same amount this coming December to February for the exact same dates, your bill will be in the €300s. Awful lot of money for sure, but it's not "in the thousands" or anywhere near that. And that's the time of year when you will use the most energy, so it will be the highest bill for the year, unless something out of the ordinary happens otherwise, like a fault. A long-term payment plan would be absolutely no issue for these - or any - customers.

There was a thing in the news about a woman whose business bill went up to 9 grand after being 2 grand or something, and people blaming it on the price increases. That's just silly. The price increase hasn't even come into effect for one - this was a bill from June to August, when usage is at its lowest, including for a business, and there hasn't been a 400% price increase (or whatever the maths is). Either her meter wasn't read for ages and ages (and each estimated bill was under-estimated) resulting in a huge catch-up when the meter was finally read, or there is a fault/power surge, or she's doing something different to the usual. But you couldn't be considering stuff like that for an auld story - it's boring. :) Never mind though that it scares the life out of elderly people. Irresponsible and unethical reporting.

Switch to another provider too if you're not in contract - all companies will be increasing their costs but you'll get the best discount being a new customer, once you have direct debit and online billing. If you're in a contract, it won't pay you to switch and incur the exit penalty, when the other companies are increasing prices too.

And send in meter-readings. Even if it's too late or too early, it will still be reflected eventually. Even accounts that have regular readings submitted will still be issued with estimated bills now and then, but once there is a record of regular readings, those estimations will be close to accurate.

Leg End Reject

If the unit cost has gone from 20c to 40c, and the standing charges have increased too would the bill not be more than double even when you factor in the VAT reduction?

It's the cumulative effect too, gas, oil, petrol, diesel and groceries have all gone up. Mortgage interest rates are increasing, rent is sky high and everything else has also increased.

For those already stretched before this it will be grim, for most of us it will mean cutting back on non-essentials. You're right though, the biggest mistake people make is burying their heads in the sand.

No the price was much more than 20 cent last December to February. It was around that two years ago. Significant climbing since last winter. And absolutely, it's still sh1t but dishonest talk of bills in their thousands has people petrified. The media are just arseholes though - they love it.

screamer

Gouging abounds. What does the energy regulator do, or is it much like the banking regulator…… not much that benefits joe public

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119582325#Comment_119582325

Everything is hyped now, I actually stopped watching the news during Covid because it was the same thing every day, "We're all going to die or kill others".

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119582336#Comment_119582336

Can't do anything about the energy blockades in Europe.

Graces7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119582351#Comment_119582351

I chose not to have TV decades ago partly for that reason. I check news online daily. It is enough.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119582397#Comment_119582397

Well, according to the hysterical Richard Boyd-Brainless on Morning Ireland we can solve this easily. How? Well by putting people before profit of course! Two lukewarm cheers for RB-B's one-size fits all single, transferrable solution to every problem: abolish capitalism!

mankteln

Any recommendations from people that have switched recently? Best to phone companies to get deal or are the internet offers the best that I'm likely to get?

Graces7

They raise our (pensioners etc) allowances then raise the price....

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119582336#Comment_119582336

I wouldn’t expect much from them. Before we had an energy regulator we had some of the lowest electricity prices in Europe. Now we’re among the highest.

Leg End Reject

It will really bite when we've all used our €600 credit, that will get me to spring/early summer so I'll really notice it next winter if things haven't settled.

Car99

The only deal available apart from smart plans is electric ireland 14% discount from what I could find.

zell12

Some deals around, you have to search, like 250 cashback https://www.sseairtricity.com/ie/home/products/switch-to-sse-airtricity/