Ireland €400 energy credit & €450 cost-cutting plan latest amid grim 322k arrears pain before ‘unthinkable’ winter

A RECORD 322,000 households across Ireland are in arrears on their electricity bills – more than at any point since available records began.

Some 14 per cent of all domestic customers were in arrears in April, with the average value of a household account being behind €515.77 on their payments.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities said that of the 322,298 customers in arrears on their bills, 186,380 are over three months behind.

The Social Democrats said the figures are a “grim milestone” that highlight the sheer extent of this crisis.

Energy spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore said the Government must introduce a €400 energy credit and include solar panels in the Warmer Homes Scheme to help families cut electricity costs by a further €450 each year.

She explained: “The Government’s head-in-the-sand approach to this crisis is not good enough.

“We need to see immediate interventions, including targeted energy supports for low to medium income households.

“The Social Democrats have repeatedly called for a €400 energy credit for households with incomes of less than €70,000.

“In addition, we have been pushing for the Government to adopt our ‘Solar for All’ plan.

“Our proposal includes a doubling of grants for solar installation to €3,600; the inclusion of solar panels in the ‘Warmer Homes Scheme’ to help families cut electricity costs by an average of €450 a year; and the rollout of new technology for plug-in solar.”

Minister for Finance Simon Harris has already ruled out the return of energy credits as part of Budget 2027.

He previously said: “I genuinely feel we have to move beyond a discussion about an energy credit to a more substantial discussion about how we drive down energy prices.

“You can help someone with one bill – and I’m not saying that’s not important if someone faces a bill – but what is much more important is that we get to a place as a country where our energy prices are at a more sustainable level and not so subjectable to shocks.”

But Whitmore said, if these are the struggles households are facing during the spring and summer months, the prospect of a cold winter without major Government intervention is “unthinkable”.

She added: “Accelerating the delivery of accessible solar infrastructure is a sure way to tackle unassailable energy costs while supporting a just transition at the same time.

“The Government must adopt this approach before this crisis spirals even further out of control.”

Sinn Fein has also criticised the government’s “lack of support” for households, saying setting up a taskforce and axing the energy credit while “showering” big businesses with subsidies and discounts is a “stain” on Fianna Fail and Fine Gael’s record.

MEP Lynn Boylan said: “Fianna Fail and Fine Gael sits on their hands while households are left to struggle by themselves.

“The best they could come up with was another taskforce. Well there are now almost 24,000 more households behind on bills since the government announced its taskforce talking shop in June last year. 

“The next big idea was to axe the energy credits in the absence of evidence that the need had gone away.

“But there are almost 22,000 more households behind since the government pulled the rug out from households by cancelling the energy credits in Budget announced last October.

“This is what the cliff edge we warned about looks like.”

Last month, the European Commission approved a €300 million subsidy to provide temporary electricity price relief for energy-intensive large businesses and industrial companies.

Boylan said: “That’s the same cost as giving every household an energy credit of €125.

“The energy regulator announced how households will face a €41 spike in the cost to fund grid upgrades, while data centres will get a €150,000 discount, 

“It’s scandalous that the government continues to greenlight data centres despite them pushing our electricity prices to the highest in Europe and hundreds of thousands of households behind in their bills.

“Enough is enough. It’s time that the households got the sort of treatment that big business expects.”