New statistics released today by Eurostat show that Ireland has the highest electricity prices in the EU.
For Irish household consumers, the per kWh cost was 37% above the EU average price.
Ireland has seen the third highest jump of 32.7%, behind Romania and Austria.
Eurostat noted that the price increases can be attributed to network costs, as well as the reduction of subsidies and allowances.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said the figures shouldn’t come as a surprise, as 322,234 households are in arrears on their electricity bills.
“We’re in an emergency, yet Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael appear to have given up on taking meaningful action. There is nothing inevitable about this. It’s the result of political choices,” she stated.
Research conducted by Boylan’s office showed how despite data centres driving the expansion of the electricity grid, they do not cover their own costs so households are left on the hook.
“Ultimately, forcing households to subsidise the electricity bills of data centres is a political choice and the government could stop that if they wanted to,” she said.
“We know from records I obtained via FOI from the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities that households will pay an additional €41 per year on network costs while data centres will get a year-on-year discount of €421,000 in network charges,” Boylan noted.
“We need to see a plan to make data centres pay their fair share for the massive strain they place on our electricity grid.”