Decreases in the wholesale price of energy may not be seen in Irish customers' bills immediately, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned.
In recent days, energy prices in Europe have dropped to their lowest levels since mid-June. It has been suggested that the drop in prices could be linked to decreased demand due to mild weather across the bloc.
Irish householders have been hit with persistent price hikes in recent months due to the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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During Leader Questions in the Dáil on Wednesday afternoon, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy questioned when the drop in prices will be passed onto customers.
However, Mr Martin warned that as companies buy their stocks in advance, the impact of the falling prices may not be seen immediately.
He said: “Given that many companies, most utility companies, base their prices on future and forward contracts, the recent drop in spot prices may immediately translate into lower electricity and gas bills for customers.
“Hopefully it will, but there are other issues also. Markets are pointing to higher prices ni the coming
“There is still a certain degree of uncertainty, due to both political uncertainty and the war in Ukraine and the need to start preparing for winter 23/24 in terms of further storage.
“It is by no means certain, but it is good news so far.
“Europe is working on stabilising prices that we have witnessed.”
Mr Martin also noted that there has been “reduced consumption” because people are “clearly fearful” of the growing cost of energy.
He also said that political uncertainty could also lead to higher prices.
Energy credits worth €200 will start appearing on people’s energy bills from next week. Two further credits will be administered in the new year.
The Government is also waiting to establish how much it will receive following the imposition of the EU’s windfall tax on energy companies.
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