Ireland's top energy companies have released statements on whether they plan to follow suit with Pinergy and drop prices for customers this year.
On Monday, Pinergy became the first energy provider in the country to cut their prices for their 30,000 Irish customer base, with household bills set to drop by 7.1% per home.
The Irish Mirror put the question to the remaining energy providers in the state.
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Electric Ireland stated that price rises have been driven by wholesale gas costs, which have increased by many multiples over the past 18 months.
They stressed that forward hedge contracts, up to a period of 24 months, are entered into at different times, causing a delay in a reflection of the wholesale markets and retail prices for the customer.
For this reason it is very difficult to project the trajectory of residential electricity and gas prices, a spokesperson for the company told the Irish Mirror.
"Electric Ireland will continue to keep its prices under constant review, and is committed to providing customers with the best value possible across a broad range of products.
"As of 1 February 2023, Electric Ireland offers the lowest Estimated Annual Bill for electricity on the market," they released in a statement.
SSE Airtricity, who supply more than 700,000 Irish homes, said that energy prices are the primary concern of their customers, and as a result of market volatility, the company was the first Irish energy provider to forego profits this financial year.
A spokesperson said: "We actively monitor energy markets and, as we have done before, will look to reduce our prices as soon as it possible to do so.”
Bord Gáis Energy said that their team of expert trading analysts purchase their energy on the forward market rather than on the more volatile spot market.
The provider explained that energy is bought 18 months ahead of time to protect customers from "market volatility."
"For this reason, the recent downward fluctuation in wholesale energy prices is not reflected in current customer prices and won’t be for some time," they said in a statement.
"Prior to today’s announcement, our Standard Variable Tarif was almost €300 below that of Pinergy’s and even after their move (on Monday), our customers enjoy a rate that is almost €100 less expensive," they claimed.
Last year, Bord Gáis pledged 10% of operating profit to their Energy Support Fund to help those most vulnerable.
This equates to €3.6million which is being administered with the help of Focus Ireland, St Vincent de Paul, MABS and ALONE.
A dedicated Bord Gáis Energy support team has been working with the most vulnerable customers and over 18,000 payment plans were set up during the year, they said.
"Customers on our loyalty rates will save even more and while we cannot comment on speculation about potential future price changes, we continue to keep our rates as competitive as possible and strive to protect customers from the worst increases in the wholesale energy markets," a spokesperson for the company added.
A PrePayPower spokesperson said Pinergy were amongst the most expensive providers in the market and will continue to be more expensive than PrePayPower even after these price reductions come into force.
"For our part, we constantly monitor charges with a view to providing best value to our customers and will continue to do so," they added.
Energia was contacted by the Irish Mirror for comment.
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