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With so many different energy providers offering different deals and prices, it can be difficult to compare electricity prices effectively without getting in a muddle.
In order to compare electricity prices in a way that gives you the best idea of what’s best for your home, when reading your bill, have a look at these figures:
Your Yearly Electricity Usage Everyone uses a different amount of electricity in their regular consumption, so you should know yours to get the most accurate quote possible. You’ll usually find your electricity usage on your bill, where it will state how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) you’ve used in a given period. If it’s monthly, simply multiply it by twelve to get the yearly figure.
Electricity Unit Rate Your electricity rate is how much you pay per kWh and is usually given in cents. This will be multiplied by the number of kWh you’ve used in your consumption to give how much you need to pay for your usage part of the bill.
Standing Charge The standing charge is one of your fixed charges that doesn’t change with how much or little you use. It’s usually for paying for having your electricity connected to your home and is given as a yearly figure.
PSO Levy The PSO levy is the Public Service Obligation levy. It is used to subsidise renewable and indigenous energy development in Ireland. Once a year, the government determines the PSO amount. It is currently set at €38.76 per year.
Carbon Tax The Carbon Tax is placed on all carbon emitting fuels and in 2024, the carbon tax is levied at €63.50 per tonne of CO₂ produced.
Valued-Added Tax (VAT) Energy customers also have to pay VAT on their electricity usage. This is currently set at 9% (although business customers will see a 13.5% tax). You will see electricity providers showing both prices with VAT and without.
You can then use your current electricity prices as a guide to compare electricity prices against the various providers’ offers. This also applies to Pay As You Go (PAYG) customers.
Anyone with discounted hour rates should tally the day, night, and peak hour usage for the year to get an accurate price.
How Do I Calculate My Electricity Usage To Compare Electricity Prices?
The first step you need to compare electricity prices is to calculate your electricity usage. This is really important since it’ll help you get a good idea of how much your bills will be with another provider when looking to switch from your current supplier. You can find your electricity usage in the following ways:
Check Your Latest Bill Your electricity consumption will always be on your latest bill.
Depending on the supplier, you will often have a number indicated the amount of electricity you consumed in the billing period and what you’ve consumed throughout the year. You need to have the consumption for 12 months to do a comparison.
Check Your Smart Meter If you have a smart meter, depending on the model, you should be able to see your monthly (or even yearly) consumption. You will need to push a few button to get to the consumption, but it should be possible to see it.
What If I Don’t Know My Electricity Usage?
If you’ve just moved into your property, or you’re on a prepay meter, you might not know what your annual consumption is.
Electricity Usage - Night Storage/Nightsaver (Day)
2,100
Electricity Usage - Night Storage/Nightsaver (Night)
2,100
Electricity Usage - Night Storage/Nightsaver (Peak)
1,008
Gas Usage - Smart Meter (Day)
2,646
Gas Usage - Smart Meter (Night)
546
Gas Usage - Standard
11,000
Average consumption in kWh
This will give you a figure to work with, but remember that energy consumption figures are usually very individual for each household, so you might use more or less than the average.
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How Do I Find My Electricity Tariff To Compare Electricity Prices?
To make things complicated when you compare electricity prices, you need to then determine the type of tariff you have for your home.
These can vary a lot since often customers living in rural and urban areas will be given a different standing charge, and also different meters will :
24 Hour Meter If you are on a standard 24-hour tariff, you will have just one unit rate on your bill.
Urban or Rural You can determine if your home is considered urban or rural by looking at your electricity MPRN number on your bill. The letters ‘DG1’ indicate an urban rate designation, whereas ‘DG2’ are rural rates.
Nightsaver or Night Storage If you are on a Nightsaver tariff, you will need to divide between the day and the night unit rates. If you have a night storage rate, you will have a normal day rate (like the 24-hour rate) and a lower night rate.
Smart Meter Tariffs Smart meters will have three rates (T1, T2, and T3) usually with the following time frames:
Day rate (8 am to 5 pm & 7 pm to 11 pm)
Night rate (11 pm to 8 am)
Peak rate (5 pm to 7 pm)
Looking to Save Energy? Ourenergy saving guides will help you learn how to be more energy efficient at home.
How Do I Find My Standing Charges To Compare Electricity Prices?
Along with charging for the electricity usage, energy companies also charge having the electricity connected to the grid, which is called the standing charge.
In Ireland, this is usually set as a yearly lump sum that can range from €200 to €300. The standing charge is also part of the fixed costs, along with the PSO levy. The standing charge is added after you’ve worked out your electricity consumption cost.
Standing Charge Example Say, for example, you’re an urban electricity customer and your energy company is offering you a standing charge of €217.08 (not including VAT). To work out how much you’ll pay in fixed costs every month, you’ll need to first at the 9% VAT rate and then divide it by twelve:
This means €19.72 is how much you’ll pay each month on top of your consumption.
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How Can I Use the EAB to Compare Electricity Prices?
Your estimated annual bill needs to be worked out by combining everything from above so you get an idea of how much your electricity will cost you throughout a year.
Working out your Estimated Annual Bill To work out your estimated annual bill, you’ll need to have your previous annual consumption ready. Say for example you used 3,900 kWh throughout the year, and you are using a 24hr urban standard meter, and you are looking to switch electricity providers. You find an electricity provider willing to offer you the following (excluding VAT):
Unit Rates: 45.00c/kWh Standing Charge: €220 a year
Firstly, we need to first add the 9% VAT onto the rates so we can get a more accurate picture:
Unit Rates: 45.00c/kWh + 9% = 49.05c/kWh Standing Charge: €220 a year + 9% = €236.80
Next, you will need to work out how much you would pay for your electricity with these rates:
Consumption Cost: 49.05c/kWh x 3,900kWh = €1912.95 a year
You’ll then need to add the fixed costs to your consumption costs to get your EAB:
So over the course of a year, you’ll be paying around €2,149.75 for your electricity. This means that you’ll be paying around €179.15 a month!
How Do I Compare Electricity Prices If I Have a Discount?
A key part of an energy company’s offer will be what discount they have to offer on their rates. Essentially, an energy company will discount your rates for a fixed period of time (typically 12 months) so you will have cheaper than is on offer.
Working out what you’ll get out from a provider’s discount is really important if you want to compare electricity prices.
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