Leading energy company to give €8.6m back to 247,000 customers

SSE Airtricity is to give €8.6m on back to customers, with this working out at around €35 per household.

It comes after the company committed to forgo profits on its electricity and gas.

Some 247,000 customers are set to benefit from the pay-out.

SSE Airtricity became the first energy supplier to announce last year that it would give up profits in favour of supporting its customers through the cost-of-living crisis.

This was followed by Electric Ireland, which also gave its customers back €50 each.

However, only Pinergy has so far cut its electricity unit costs, despite a sharp fall in wholesale energy costs.

The €35 credit will be automatically applied to over 247,000 customer accounts from this week, with SEE Airtricity saying customers do not need to contact the company to avail of the credit.

Managing director of SSE Energy Customer Solutions Nikki Flanders said: “Supporting our customers has been a key focus for us throughout the crisis and, as a responsible business, we believe that not making a profit in this crisis and giving back to our customers was absolutely the right thing to do.”

She said the company had rolled out €25m in customer supports last year to help those unable to pay.

Ms Flanders said: “The €35 we are giving back today represents all of the profit we made as an energy supplier returned on customers’ bills; this means we have provided energy to customers during this difficult time ‘at cost’.

“Any customer who is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their energy costs should contact us in confidence and we will do our best to support them.”

The cash-back is being paid days after a survey emerging this week showing electricity prices in Ireland are the highest of 33 countries across Europe.

The unit price for electricity is almost double the European average, according to the Household Energy Price Index, which was commissioned by the Austrian energy regulator and the Hungarian energy regulator.

Gas prices are also among the most expensive in Europe.

The cost of electricity has doubled for Irish households in the last two years.

The Household Energy Price Index calculates the supports per capita in Ireland at €1,071 since September 2021.

This figure includes three €200 energy credits, the last of which is due to be paid by now.

The average cost of electricity has risen to around €2,000 a year, with all suppliers in this market implementing a success of double-digit price hikes in the last two years.