Wholesale electricity prices dipped last month, but remained significantly higher than in March 2024, official figures show.
Prices paid for wholesale electricity fell 6.4 per cent in March from February, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
However, prices were 52 per cent higher last month than in March 2024, the State agency said on Thursday.
Energy industry figures cautioned early in the year homes and businesses could face higher bills later this year if global trends driving up wholesale prices continued.
Electricity costs rose on the back of sharp rises in the price of natural gas, used to generate much of Europe’s power.
The closure of a gas pipeline running through Ukraine cut supplies of the fuel by around 6 per cent.
Alongside that, cold, calm conditions dominated Europe during the winter, driving up demand and cutting renewable electricity supplies.
Irish wholesale electricity prices rose as a consequence. CSO figures show a sustained rise through to January this year, with a subsequent easing over the following two months.
The CSO does not provide figures for the actual cost, but instead benchmarks movements in wholesale prices against their level in January 2021.
Wholesale electricity prices themselves change every 30 minutes as producers and companies that supply Ireland’s homes and businesses trade it.
Industry body, Wind Energy Ireland, this week calculated that the average wholesale price last month was €131.80 per megawatt hour (MW/h), the unit in which it is traded.
This was less than the €140.86MW/h February average and €167.51MW/h in January, the organisation’s figures show.
The group noted that the price fell to €94.46MW/h last month during windy days, when its industry was able to supply large quantities of electricity, but rose to €187.57 when fossil fuel provided most of the power.
Natural gas generates around half the electricity used in Ireland.
Wholesale electricity price movements do not directly affect most customers, as suppliers buy most of their needs months in advance, a practice known as hedging.
However, wholesale charges do play a role in determining the hedged prices, so movements in this market can ultimately feed through to domestic bills.
Irish prices began rising as supplies locally came under pressure in 2021, then surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, closing natural gas pipelines and sparking turmoil in European energy markets.
The EU eased pressure by boosting imports of liquefied natural gas.
