Ireland Has EU's Highest Electricity Prices in H2 2025, 40% Above Average

Ireland recorded the highest electricity prices in the EU for the second half of 2025, with consumers paying 40.42 cent per kilowatt-hour, nearly 40% above the EU average of 28.96 cent. This translates to annual household bills approximately €480 higher than the EU average. While Ireland's purchasing power adjusts its ranking to fifth most expensive, structural, geographic, and energy-policy factors contribute to these persistently high costs.

UCC's Dr. Paul Deane's research breaks down the average bill: over a third covers electricity generation costs, influenced by rising international gas and wholesale energy prices (wholesale electricity prices jumped 18% in the year to April). Moving electricity accounts for another fifth, while managing and operating the grid makes up roughly 25%. Taxes and supplier costs each contribute about 10%. Ireland's unusually large distribution network relative to its population, with wires that could wrap around the world four times, significantly increases transmission costs.

Ireland's dispersed population and extensive rural network also drive up grid infrastructure expenses. Data centers consumed 22% of metered electricity in 2024, a global outlier, straining the grid and necessitating high-cost emergency fossil fuel generation. Weak energy interconnection with other countries exacerbates this; while a second interconnector with the UK is active, the Celtic interconnector with France is delayed, limiting access to cheaper foreign electricity.

Ireland's energy mix heavily relies on fossil fuels, accounting for nearly half of electricity generation in 2024, compared to the EU average of 28%. Renewables made up 40%, below the EU's 48%. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) found no evidence of excessive profiteering by suppliers, noting strong competition. To reduce prices, a radical shift from fossil fuels to renewables and improved energy interconnection are essential.