Switching electric/gas providers (see first post for links)

There's one I found,but you should have a look yourself?

Yep, 2000 and 2001 qualify as the early two thousands and they were pence. Relative to income, in the monopoly years electricity was expensive ESB fought against it for a long time.

As usual, better rates available for non smart day/night meters.

As long as the smart meter hasn't been "activated" the same rates apply.

Would I need to pay a breakage fee to FloGas if I signed up to their variable rate fixed discount offer from April the 1st, but then they relased a fixed rate offer a few weeks/months later that I wanted to switch to?

That's good news, thank you.

I rang Flogas just now asking abut new rates as contrart is up in March, they told me the new rates have been sent to BWG and to request the link from them to renew.

I just caught a FloGas sales rep near our house. He was very helpful, but can't give me a fixed rate. He couldn't say if there'll be one at all.

From the article:

People face increased costs in the coming years despite a likely fall in wholesale prices for electricity and gas

While there may be a modest increase in gas prices (I think the above is taking a longer term view), increases to the standard charge and other levies are minor in comparison to the entire bill. I cannot see 30 or 40% hikes in 2025. Even 20% seems a lot to me.

That's just my guess tho.

Prices were due to be rising in 2022 anyway because some people in suits wanted to after the COVID pandemic ended, Russia's invasion of Ukraine simply made the problem worse so what was meant to be a big rise became a very big rise.

Since 2022 we could have changed our energy policy to better protect consumers. The UK and France for example have price caps on what suppliers can charge. We could have introduced these or even something simpler like removed the policy of paying the highest price to all providers regardless of whether you provide solar, gas, oil etc

Our govt sat on their hands, actually reduced things that might help like the home solar grants and the cut to VAT, and now we will suffer as a result.

It's not a monopoly at all, every provider is still free to choose their tariffs as long as they remain below the cap. It's very much like the situation we have in Ireland at the moment except that they have to charge a price below what is a set maximum.

Under the current system when one company announce price increases the others follow suit within a few weeks and there is no maximum they are allowed by law to charge

I'd say dynamic tariffs, like smart tariffs, will only push prices in one direction, and that's up

They've reaffirmed no more energy credits for now, though the budget is still a long way away.