Anger as thousands of households told €150 electricity credit delayed to new year

Large numbers of consumers have questioned why the government electricity credit has shown up on their accounts but not been applied to their bills.

There is anger that the credit has not come off bills as we enter one of the most intensive energy-use periods of the year, with families mostly at home over Christmas and festive lights using up lots of power.

Three energy credits totalling €450 were announced in October’s Budget to help households facing elevated electricity bills.

Electric Ireland said the credits would be automatically available to residential electricity customer accounts. It said the government payments would be first made this month, then between January and February and again between March and April next year.

“As with all suppliers, the date a customer receives their credit depends on the date that their respective supplier normally sends them their bill,” Electric Ireland said.

In some cases, the credit may not appear on an Electric Ireland customer’s bill during these payment periods because this would depend on the timing of a customer’s billing cycle. If a customer was outside of these payment periods, the first credit would show on their next Electric Ireland bill, the supplier said.

The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU), which oversees the credits scheme, said issues around when exactly the credits were applied to electricity bills were affecting all suppliers.

It said the payment periods had been set out by government legislation and this was the period during which the credit would be applied to a customer account.

However, the credit may not appear on a bill during those payment periods because this depends on the billing cycle of the individual customer.

“For example, if you received a bill in November 2023, then your next bill will be due in January 2024 (assuming they are billed bi-monthly) – the first credit should show on the January bill. For this reason, some customers may find more than one credit may appear on a bill in January,” the CRU said.

If a customer did not receive a credit automatically, and they think they are eligible to receive it, they should follow up with their supplier, the regulator said.

Meanwhile, the latest research carried out by the CRU shows that new company Yuno Energy is the cheapest supplier of standard electricity, at an estimated annual cost of €1,894. It is also the cheapest for discounted electricity at €1,665.

Energia’s Standard Smart 10pc is the lowest-priced smart meter, time-of-use plan at €1,502. For gas, Energia’s standard plan, at €1,550 a year, is the cheapest.

When it comes to discounted gas plans, Bord Gáis Energy tops the best-value list with an annual estimated cost of €1,412 on its New Gas 15pc plan.