"We have no option but to increase our rates in the current environment."
Stop us if you've heard this one before – a major Irish energy company is set to increase its monthly prices by a genuinely eyebrow-raising amount.
Recent months have seen price-rise announcements from the likes of
Electric Ireland – who actually did it
twice –
Bord Gáis and
Energia among other providers. It's very much a stark sign of the times as the cost of living crisis shows little sign of abating, and now Flogas Energy has entered the fray.
Per an official statement issued on Tuesday (19 July), Flogas is set to increase its prices for gas to the tune of 24.1%, while electricity will go up by 9.8%. The hikes will come into effect from Friday, 19 August.
Why? The "continuing and unprecedented increases in wholesale gas prices and the associated increases in wholesale electricity costs" has been cited, as has the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe and the knock-on effect of "significant uncertainty surrounding reliability of gas flows, adding to the existing pressures on prices in European energy markets".
The impact on estimated annual bills (EAB) can be seen via the table below, with average monthly gas bills rising by just over €30, while the average electricity bill increase ranging between €13.39 and €16.20.
"As energy customers ourselves, we are keenly aware of the impact of increasing costs on Irish households," said Flogas Energy general manager Paul Kenny.
"Energy cost increases are affecting all suppliers and while we are continually looking at ways to keep our costs low, we have no option but to increase our rates in the current environment... unfortunately, there is no certainty around electricity and gas prices into the winter."
