Bord Gáis Energy has become the latest energy supplier to cut its prices.
The company is to reduce its unit rates for both electricity and gas charges by 15.5%.
Standing charges for both fuels is also to fall by a similar percentage.
The provider says the reductions will lead to a reduction of €274 in the average gas bill and €357 in the average electricity bill.
The cuts will take effect from November 9 and mark the first time the company has reduced its prices in over three and a half years.
Bord Gáis Energy has more than 600,000 customers across the country.
“We know energy costs have been hugely challenging for customers over the past two years. Whilst the energy market remains uncertain and volatile, we are happy to be in the position to pass on these reductions to our customers today,” said Dave Kirwan, Managing Director of Bord Gáis Energy.
The move follows similar reductions by other energy providers in recent weeks, as drops in the wholesale cost of energy is passed through to customers.
However, energy prices still remain extremely elevated compared to pre-Ukraine war levels.
Bord Gáis Energy recently posted an operating loss of €30m as a result of absorbing higher energy costs during the first six months of the year.
The company has an Energy Support Fund which has given out €5.2m to vulnerable customers and it has also increased its customer care staffing to help those who are experiencing difficulty in paying their bills.
Last October Bord Gáis hiked its energy prices by almost 50%. And in April of last year, it hiked its electricity prices by almost 30% and its gas prices by over 40%.
Daragh Cassidy, Head of Communications for bonkers.ie, said today’s cuts were expected given recent price drops by all Bord Gáis’s main competitors in recent weeks.
“It#s also good to see that Bord Gáis has cut its standing charges. These were increased hugely by all suppliers during the crisis. No one can avoid them, no matter how little energy they use, so it’s good to see Bord Gáis begin to reverse some of the previous hikes,” Mr Cassidy said.
But he also pointed out that even after today’s reduction, Bord Gáis’s prices remain around double what they were in 2020 before Covid and before the war in Ukraine wreaked havoc with energy prices.
“It remains to be seen if we’ll see further price drops from Bord Gáis over the coming weeks given how high wholesale prices remain,” Mr Cassidy said.
“I think we’ll see another 10% to 15% reduction in a few months’ time if wholesale prices remain where they currently are. But that would still leave our prices well above the EU average and well above what we’re used to paying,” he said.
“The peak of the energy crisis seems to have passed. But we’re still a long, long way from a return to normality,” he added.
He also called on the Government to retain the reduced rate of VAT on gas and electricity for the foreseeable future.
“Prices are still at very high levels for households. And will remain high for many months – maybe years,” he said.
“This is not the time to hit households with a hike in their energy costs. Indeed, despite the Government reducing VAT from 13.5% to 9% last year, it still collected more revenue as prices were so high. So it can well afford to keep the reduced rate for now,” he added.