Record number of households in arrears on electricity bills

A record number of households are struggling to pay their electricity bills, with 322,298 customers in arrears in April, according to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. This marks the highest level since the CRU began collecting data in 2016. The figures show a slight increase from March and represent 14% of all domestic electricity customers. Of those behind, a significant portion, 186,380 households, are over three months in arrears.

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There are more people struggling to pay their bills now than at any point since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The rising arrears are drawing sharp criticism from Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan. She stated that the latest figures are "another stain on the record of this Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government." Boylan highlighted that more people are struggling to pay bills now than before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She criticized the government's response, noting that arrears have increased by nearly 24,000 households since the announcement of a taskforce. Furthermore, she pointed to the cancellation of energy credits in October, stating that nearly 22,000 more households have fallen behind since then.

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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.

Boylan also drew a stark contrast between government support for businesses and households. She noted that the government secured EU approval for a €300 million subsidy for large businesses, which she equated to the cost of providing every household with a €125 energy credit. The MEP further condemned the energy regulator's announcement of a €41 spike in costs for grid upgrades, while data centers will receive 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," she said.

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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.