Gas supplier Flogas has today announced that it will increase its prices by 9.8% from 1st November 2018. This comes just three months after the supplier increased its prices by 12.8% earlier this year at the beginning of August.
In a most unwelcome turn of events, Flogas has made the decision to increase its prices for a second time in 2018, a move that will add an extra average of €1.54 to weekly or €80 to customers’ annual bills.
The supplier cites that the reason for the increase is a response to “significant increases in wholesale gas costs over the past three months.”
John Rooney, managing director of Flogas Ireland said: “Wholesale gas costs have increased by 28% in the past three months alone and are now 54% higher than they were at the beginning of this year. This trend is unlikely to reverse in the mid-term and so it is very disappointing to have to make this announcement. We are very aware that price increases are never welcome as the winter months approach but despite a substantial streamlining of our operational costs and overheads during 2018, we still have no choice but to pass on some of the wholesale cost increase to our customers.”
The third price increase in 12 months
Though the second increase from the supplier in 2018, this new increase from Flogas is the third we’ve seen in less than 12 months. The supplier increased prices by 3.3% last December. This means that a typical annual Flogas gas bill from November on average will be €193 more expensive than it was this time last year.
Is there any way to avoid the hike?
After eight out of Ireland’s ten energy suppliers having increased prices over the summer, it’s surprising and disappointing to see Flogas announcing another increase so soon after the last round of hits. We can only hope that this isn’t the beginning of another price hiking trend as we head into the winter season!
Energy prices aren’t going down any time soon, and we regretfully wouldn’t be surprised to see other suppliers respond with their own price hikes in the coming weeks. However, there are actions customers can take to avoid the hikes - and even save money in the process.
There are a total of ten energy suppliers on the market now, so there’s no shortage of choice when it comes to price plans. There are some significant sign-up incentives on offer including cashback offers and discounted rates.
If you haven’t switched energy suppliers in over a year, you’re definitely overpaying and could make significant savings right now just by switching suppliers - and the great news is it only takes a few minutes using our comparison calculator.
