Electric Ireland will cut €50 off everyone's domestic bill in the New Year, after it announced three price rises in 2022 piling an extra €900 on top of the average annual electricity bill.
The move by State-owned Electric Ireland for its electricity customers was announced yesterday and will cost the company around €55million.
The firm said it is "forgoing profit" from its residential electricity business to pay the credit to each of its 1.2million residential customers.
However, Daragh Cassidy, of switching service Bonkers.ie, said that while it would be welcomed by customers, on top of three energy credits to be given by the State up to April, it will barely put a dent in people's energy bills.
"The average Electric Ireland customer's electricity bill has gone up by over €900 this year alone, while gas customers will have seen an increase of over €1,000. So many customers will still struggle with energy bills over the coming weeks," said Mr Cassidy.
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He also noted that the company hasn't given any guarantee on whether prices will stay as they are.
"Unfortunately, more price increases over the coming weeks and months can't be ruled out from either Electric Ireland or any other supplier," said Mr Cassidy.
"The price of gas still remains at highly elevated levels. The price has eased recently, which is good news, but it remains very volatile. Any further cold weather or escalation of the war in Ukraine could see prices shoot back up."
He said that on foot of the announcement, "other suppliers will no doubt come under pressure to follow with something similar". He added: "We need to put things into perspective. The company is still covering its costs and its generation side (ESB) is making healthy profits. However, most of the ESB profit is needed for investment in our national grid and the Government also took a record dividend from the ESB last year."
It follows warnings that households could see their next energy bill rise by as much as 50% after the recent prolonged cold snap. While mild temperatures will continue to around Christmas Day, another cold snap is due to follow this.
Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said recently: "My expectation is for the next year or two, we are not going to see significant reduction in electricity or gas prices. If the war was going to end you might see some differences, but the prospect of that is remote." Mr Ryan said there were about 200,000 people in arrears on their electricity and a slightly smaller number in arrears on their gas.
Spiralling international gas prices made it "a very challenging year for energy customers", Electric Ireland boss Pat Fenlon said. "We are acutely aware of the pressures customers face this winter and, recognising these exceptional circumstances, Electric Ireland is forgoing profit from its residential electricity business. Electric Ireland's residential customers can each expect to receive €50 credit in the New Year," he said.
Gas generates about half of Ireland's electricity, so as its price rises, it affects the prices power suppliers charge.
As well as the cash discount off bills, the company has increased its hardship fund by €2m to €5m, which "will help ensure the fund is accessible to those most in need of support during the winter months".
Mr Fenlon added: "We are committed to helping any of our customers who experience financial difficulty."
The discounts will be applied to customers' bills from early in the New Year.
A disconnection moratorium is in place across the country for the coming months.
This moratorium will continue until the end of February 2023 for all residential customers, and until the end March next year for those who are registered as vulnerable customers, as mandated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.
