Pinergy has become the latest energy supplier to hike its prices with the cost of its electricity set to rise by another 19% from 1st December.
The crisis that has been engulfing the energy industry since the start of the year shows no signs of abating unfortunately.
On Friday SSE Airtricity announced its third price hike of the year and a few days before that Panda Power announced its fifth price hike.
And now today Pinergy has announced that it's raising the price of its electricity by another 19% from 1st December - also its fifth price hike of the year.
The latest increase will add almost €300 a year to the average household’s annual electricity bill.
However when all this year’s price hikes are taken into account, customers of Pinergy are looking at paying almost €800 more a year for their electricity.
Previous Pinergy price increases
Pinergy has announced five price increases so far this year: in April, June, August, October, and now one for December.
However the supplier definitely isn't alone in increasing its prices as there have been over 35 price hike announcements from the 14 energy suppliers in Ireland since the start of the year.
| Month | Price change |
| April | +4.2% |
| June | +8.2% |
| August | +11.4% |
| October | +7.8% |
| December | +19% |
Why are energy prices increasing?
There have been over 35 price hike announcements from Irish energy suppliers since the start of the year.
Prices are increasing as the price of gas, which collapsed at the height of the pandemic, has increased significantly in recent months, partly due to supply chain bottlenecks because of Covid. The price of gas, which we use to generate up to 50% of our electricity on average, has shot up by over 200% in recent months for example.
To make things worse, two large power plants have until recently been out of action for maintenance reasons: the Whitegate plant in Cork and the Huntstown plant in Dublin. Together these usually supply around 15% or more of our electricity. However the Huntstown plant just recently came back on stream.
Finally, the level of wind output has been far lower than usual this year too, leading many to talk of a ‘wind drought’.
See here for a more in-depth overview on why prices are going up.
An 'unsustainable and dysfunctional' market
Speaking on the back of its latest price hike, Pinergy CEO, Enda Gunnell, said:
Regrettably we are still experiencing sustained and well-publicised issues that continue to impact on rising global wholesale energy costs that are directly hitting households and businesses, together with the real risks to electricity supply.
As winter approaches, the energy crunch will demand further urgent talks, negotiations and market reforms at national, EU and international levels to resolve what is fast becoming an unsustainable and dysfunctional market.
I would like to continue to reassure our customers that at Pinergy, we will be doing our best to continue to offer value, data-led insights and renewable energy to help them to better manage their energy usage and sustainability goals. We will of course course continue to review pricing and when the market creates the right opportunities, we will look to reverse this upward pricing trend as soon as is practical.
A difficult winter
As we move into the darker and colder months when energy demand typically soars, many households will feel the pinch from all the recent price increases. Particularly so as many of us are working more from home.
However, despite the rising prices, there is still huge competition among many of the energy suppliers in Ireland for new customers right now and they’re all offering huge discounts to those who switch. For example, the average switcher could save over €500 a year just by changing supplier. However some switchers could save well over €1,000!
It's super quick and easy to switch and it can all be done online in the space of a few minutes online on bonkers.ie. You don’t even have to contact your existing supplier to let them know you’re leaving.
Use our energy comparison tool to review all the tariffs and deals available from Ireland’s 14 energy suppliers and switch online in just a few minutes.
We're here to help
If you’re seeking advice when it comes to switching, have a look at our guide on 7 things to consider when switching energy supplier. We’d also recommend taking a look at the most common questions we get asked about the energy switching process.
Here are 15 ways to use less electricity and 10 ways that you can heat your home for less this winter that may help you spend less.
It may also be a good idea to check your eligibility for the winter fuel allowance and the free electricity allowance.
And don’t forget that you can stay up to date with all of the latest energy news and top saving tips with our blogs and guides.
Get in touch with us
Were you expecting another price increase from Pinergy? If you’re a Pinergy customer are you now considering switching? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
If you have any questions about the energy price increase or switching, you can also contact us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
