Bright Energy is now the seventh electricity supplier to pass on charges to consumers incurred by all suppliers on the Single Electricity Market (SEM).
It's been two months since Electric Ireland was the first provider to increase the cost of its residential electricity for customers, choosing to pass on an increase in costs incurred by all suppliers on the Single Electricity Market (SEM).
Since then a total of six suppliers have passed on the increase in costs to their customers, including PrepayPower, Iberdrola, BE Energy, Pinergy and Glowpower.
And today, the newest entrant into the energy market, Bright Energy has become the sixth supplier to raise its electricity prices, and by a massive 10.1% on average for customers.
Are you a customer of Bright? Find out in detail how this price change might affect your pocket below.
Who is Bright?
Bright is a Belfast-based energy supplier. It was founded by entrepreneur brothers Ciaran and Stephen Devine in partnership with forecourt retailer, Maxol. Ciaran and Stephen already have experience in the energy sector having been operating a large biomass renewable energy plant in Lisahally, Derry, which provides enough energy for over 40,000 homes, for many years.
Bright says it is a technology-driven energy supplier whose specially designed app promises to make managing and controlling households’ energy bills easier than ever.
Bright also plans to enter the gas market in the coming months.
The increase in detail
Bright, who is now the 13th residential energy supplier in Ireland, has made the decision to increase the cost of its residential electricity for existing customers by 10.1% on average, which includes an increase to its unit rates as well as standing charge.
The planned price increase from the 100% renewable energy supplier is set to come into effect from December 2nd of this year.
As it stands, Bright's unit rate, that is the amount it charges per kWh, is set to increase from 14.80c to 16.146c from December 2nd.
Meanwhile, Bright's standing charge (24 hour rate) is also set to rise by 29% from €84.29 (inc. VAT) to €108.78 (inc. VAT) on the same date.
The average 10.1% increase will add an extra €1.55 a week to the cost of the average customer’s energy bill, or €6.20 a month.
However, because Bright’s standard unit rate tracks the wholesale market, when prices fall again customers will see savings passed on immediately.
CEO of Bright, Ciaran Devine said:
Bright has consistently offered customers the lowest electricity prices since we launched in Ireland in July. What’s equally important to the thousands of people who have joined bright since that time is the fact that we only supply 100% green energy, all of which is sourced from renewables.
Our single rate makes charges and bills easier to understand, keeping things as simple as possible. There are no long-term contracts or exit fees and the bright app allows customers to submit a meter reading and manage and track their usage and costs.
All of these things help make Bright a very attractive, simple and greener option for customers. We are not about gimmicks and are confident that once the special offers and discounted tariffs offered by other suppliers expire, we will still be the cheapest supplier on the market for all households.
You can take a look at Bright’s tariff in more detail over on bonkers.ie.
Energy price changes
Since Electric Ireland increased the cost of its electricity in September, six suppliers have since followed suit with electricity price increases.
PrepayPower, Iberdrola, Be Energy, Pinergy, Glowpower, and Bright have now all increased the price of their standard unit electricity rates.
However, four suppliers went the opposite way, with Bord Gáis, Flogas, Energia, and SSE Airtricity all implementing price freezes for their customers for the winter months and into 2021 in some cases.
Flogas even decreased the price of its gas by a further 10% as well as freezing its electricity prices.
Disconnection moratorium
After Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy announced they would be suspending disconnections for customers during the Level 5 lockdown, the regulator came out and announced an industry wide moratorium.
The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) announced last week that all suppliers could not disconnect customers for the six-week period of lockdown should some customers be unable to pay.
Find out everything you need to know about the disconnection moratorium from the CRU here.
Switch and save
It’s like we always say, a penny saved is a penny earned and the best way to save a pretty penny is to switch suppliers, especially if you’ve been hit with a price increase in the last number of days, weeks, or months.
You can compare and contrast all the best deals on the market right now using our energy comparison tool here, with the average energy customer saving €498 when they switch suppliers with us online.
For more information before you make the switch, consider taking a look at some of our helpful energy articles:
- Our frequently asked questions about switching energy supplier will help make it as easy as possible for you to switch.
- Getting to know these 10 terms beforehand will make the process of switching easier.
- When it comes to switching providers, price is important, but there are other aspects to take into account as well. Here’s a list of 7 important things to keep in mind when looking into switching.
- If you’re still in contract, you may be subject to an early exit fee if you decide to switch. You can learn more about energy cancellation fees here.
So switch and save with bonkers.ie today and see how much you could save!
Let’s hear from you
Are you a Bright Energy customer? What do you think of the energy price increase? Let us know in the comments below or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
