Business

Electric Ireland announces 15% cut to residential tariff in north

ESB-owned electricity supplier currently has one of the most expensive domestic rates in Northern Ireland

Hand inserting black plug into silver socket.
Electric Ireland's residential tariff for northern customers will fall by 15% on June 4. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Electric Ireland has announced a 15% reduction in its tariff for residential customers in the north.

The supplier said the cut will come into effect from June 4 2024, potentially saving the average household around £206 per year.

At 43p per kWh, the ESB-owned electricity supplier’s standard unit price is currently one of most expensive in the domestic Northern Ireland market.

Electric Ireland has traditionally been the north’s third largest electricity supplier.

It currently has 55,000 residential customers in Northern Ireland, down from around 100,000 a few years ago.

The company said it will communicate the price changes to customers via email in the coming days, with letters for the remaining customers expected to arrive in the next two weeks.

The announcement comes after Power NI, SSE Airtricity and Budget Energy implemented cuts to their respective household tariffs across March and early April.



Electric Ireland is currently under formal investigation by the Utility Regulator regarding eight potential breaches of its licence.

The nature of the alleged breaches remains unclear.

Last year a technical fault affected thousands of Electric Ireland customers, leaving some without power.

It mainly impacted customers using keypad meters.

The north’s regulator can impose fines where it concludes a company breached the terms of its licence.

Failure to comply with enforcement action can result in suppliers being stripped of their operating licence.

A previous investigation by the Utility Regulator led to Electric Ireland paying £250,000 to charities in 2020.