Why Is My Electricity Bill So High? - A Guide To Lower Costs

By Cormac Breen

Content Manager

Any sudden increase in your electricity bill could be realted to your provider estimating your electricty usage rather than taking an actual reading, or perhaps you have been placed on a more expensive tariff by your provider. Other issues could be faulty appliances consuming more energy than they normally do.

Why Is My Electricity Bill So High?

Understanding why your electricity bill is so high can often be confusing, but there are some practical steps you can take to help you better read your bill and find out why you are spending so much on electricity.

Electricity Meters: Time For an Upgrade?

One of the most common issues with people overpaying on bills is to do with their electricity meter. Here are some things to keep in mind if you think your meter is costing you more on your bills than it should.

Estimated or Actual Reading?

One of the most common reasons for people being overcharged on their electricity bills is due to their bill being based on an estimated rather than actual usage reading.

Energy companies take meter readings 4 times a year in order to estimate how much electricity you use per month. From this, they calculate your bill based on your current price tariff.

As our electricity habits change during the year, particularly in summer, it’s important to submit or request accurate meter readings so as not to have to pay an estimated bill in summer based off of how much electricity you used in winter.

If you notice that your bills are based on estimates, request a meter reading from your energy provider to get a more accurate bill, and hopefully reduce your bill.

Apartment Block: Are You Paying For Someone’s Electricity?

For standalone homes, it’s quite clear where your electricity meter is and to which home it belongs. However, for those living in urban areas and in particular apartment complexes, it might not always be clear where your electricity meter is located or in indeed which is yours.

If you feel you are being overcharged on your electricity bills, it is worth contacting the administrative authority or landlord of the building to ask if you can submit a meter reading to your electricity provider.

You might find your bills are based on a previous tenant’s estimated electricity usage or, if there was a change in energy provider, an outstanding charge from the previous provider.

It could also be a case of a fault with the meters in the building, and you could be connected to the wrong meter entirely. You might find you're paying someone else’s electricity bill, so it is worth investigating to make sure your meter is correctly connected to your apartment.

Smart Meters: A Clever Way To Keep Bills Down

With the continued rollout of smart meters across Ireland, many providers are now offering smart tariffs with three separate kWh rates for daytime, nighttime and peak times. Similar to nightsaver meters, they offer the benefit of cheaper off-peak electricity prices.

The objective is to give customers greater insight into their energy consumption habits, while also encouraging them to avail of cheaper electricity during off-peak times.

While smart meters do away with the problem of estimated bills overcharging customers, they do come with their own issues and some customers have complained about receiving expensive electricity bills, so it's important to keep these in mind when changing to a smart tariff.

• Make a note of the peak hours as outlined by your electricity tariff and try to avoid using more expensive appliances during those times.
• Take advantage of off-peak times and programme expensive appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines to come on during those hours.
• Use the insight provided by the meter to identify energy intensive appliances to be able to be more economical with their use.

Taxes and Levies

Another reason that you energy bill is high could be due to taxes and levies applied to it. In Ireland, apart from VAT, energy customers are also charged:

1. Carbon Tax
2. PSO Levy

The carbon tax is placed on all carbon emitting fuel as a means of incentivising people, and companies, to move towards more sustainable and renewable sources of energy.

The PSO levy is used to guarantee renewable energy companies recieve a minimum price for the energy they produce so as to support and incentivise the sector.

What Is the Average Electricity Bill in Ireland?

While every home and its electricity use will be different, it can be useful to have an idea of what the average cost of electricity is in order to get an idea if you are overspending on your bills. 

It will also help you when shopping around for a new energy supplier as you can make better comparisons of the prices they offer.

In Ireland, the average annual cost of electricity is based on an estimated consumption of 4,200 kWh per household. This is to give consumers a simple formula by which they can calculate their electricity costs.

If we take the most prominent provider in the market, Electric Ireland, as of April 2024, their Urban 24hr rate of 27.23c /kWh, would give an estimated annual electricity bill of €1,394.40. This price includes additional costs such as standing charges, VAT, PSO levy included.

We can take this a step further and work out the average annual electricity bill based on the size of home and its average annual kWh usage.

These prices are based on Electric Ireland’s Standard 24hr rate of 27.23c kWh discounted by 24% with VAT and Standing Charges included. (Updated November 2024)

Prices Changes: Keep an Eye on Your Provider's Rate Changes

Given the competitiveness of the Irish Energy market, providers are often changing their prices, with many lowering their prices in the last 12 months on top of offering attractive discounts to new and existing customers.

Now, this might not sound like a reason for high electricity bills, but it is worth paying attention to. Many introductory offers and discounts are limited to the first 12 months of a new contract. Once the contract enters into the second year, the price will also increase along with possible changes in their electricity rates.

It’s therefore important to keep an eye on the terms and conditions of your electricity tariffs to make sure there are no sudden jumps in your electricity bill. This will also give you the opportunity to consider switching energy provider to avail of introductory offers they have to ensure you keep your energy bills as low as possible.

Changing Wholesale Energy Prices

Another factor that could be influencing the cost of your electricity is bill is changes to the wholesale price of gas no the market.

The unti price charged by an energy company is dictated by the wholesale price of gas on the European market. As this price increases, so does the unit cost of electricity as providers have to buy at a higher rate and pass the costs on to consumers.

The wholesale price of gas has risen significantly in Europe over the last 5 years mainly due to the Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 which spiked an energy crisis across the contient contributing to an already rising cost of living.

Inefficient Appliances

Even after checking your meter, you might still be scratching your head as to why your electricity bills are so high. The reason might be to do with the appliances you have in your home.

All electrical appliances use energy measured in kilowatt-hours or kWh. You will see this on your energy bill as providers charge per kWh, and it is what is used to calculate the cost of the electricity you use.

Depending on the appliance, some you use more kWh, meaning they are more expensive to use. Large domestic appliances like washing machines and tumble dryers often cost a lot more than televisions or laptops as they have to use a lot of energy to heat water etc.

While most modern appliances tend to be designed with energy efficiency in mind, many households still use older models that may not be as efficient as their modern counterparts, and this could be contributing to your high bills.

One solution is to try and find out which appliances are costing you the most by using a meter plug. This is a type of adapter that lets you measure the energy consumption of an appliance to see how many kWh it’s using and if it’s the reason you’re paying so much for electricity.

If you find that your old refrigerator or dishwasher is using a lot of energy, it might be worth investing in a modern model with a high energy efficiency rating to try and reduce your bills.

Working From Home

Over the last 4 years, many of us have experienced big changes in the way we work and study and with this, a rise in our home energy consumption. Unfortunately, this can result in our electricity bills getting more expensive too.

Running a laptop for a couple of extra hours a day or adding a few cups of coffee to our work routine shouldn’t cost a lot, but these small increases can add up over the year, resulting in some expensive bills.

It’s therefore important to try to manage our electricity use as efficiently as possible while working from home so as not lose out on the cost benefit of working from home.

Read our energy saving guide to working from home to learn more about how you can cut down on electricity costs while working from home.

Can I Get a Better Deal For My Electricity Needs?

While it’s always useful to get some insight and advice into how to lower our electricity costs, a general guide can only provide you with so much information that may not all be relevant to you and your specific situation.

That’s why one of the best ways to cut down on your electricity bills is to shop around and see if there is an energy supplier who meets your specific needs, at a price that works for you. It might be the difference in saving hundreds of euros per year.

Here at Selectra, we are ready to take your call, where one of our dedicated energy experts will be ready to help you compare the best deals on the market today and put you on the path to lower energy costs.