SSE hike will push more and more into poverty
SSE hike will push more and more into poverty - The Labour Party
- Contagion spreading in energy market as third provider hikes prices in a month
- Over 300,000 in arrears on energy bills
- Targeted energy credits must be in Budget 2026
With SSE Airtricity announcing that customer’s electricity bills will be increased by around €151 a year for a typical bill, Labour’s climate and energy spokesperson Ciaran Ahern TD said energy credits must be a feature of Budget 2026. Otherwise, more and more homes will be pushed into poverty.
Deputy Ahern said:
“Earlier this month both Bord Gáis Energy and Pinergy announced price increases and today SSE Airtricity is joining the fold. This is cartel-like behaviour and the lack of competition in the market is allowing these companies to run away with massive profits.
“People deserve a real explanation for what is going on here. The reality is that this is leading to giant profits for the providers and giant bills for hard-pressed households. In the UK, every energy company is obliged to give the same tariff to existing customers as they do to new customers. That is a measure we should be looking at here.
“Over 300,000 households are in arrears on electricity bills, and almost 175,000 in gas arrears. This is all happening in the context of the ESRI’s research showing 1 in 5 children living below the poverty line when housing costs are accounted for, and with food price inflation up by 5% in the month of August alone.
“I can’t see how this Government will be able to justify an untargeted VAT cut for the hospitality industry at a time when there are people out there who are struggling to get by. There must be targeted energy payments in this year’s Budget to help households, but equally, Government simply can’t let the big energy companies and the big retailers run rings around them.
“Labour will use its Private Members’ Time on Wednesday morning to raise the extortionate cost of living with the Government and its failure to act.
“Profiteering and greedflation needs to be tackled by this Government. None of this has happened overnight. Government’s failure to make any ground in terms of investment in renewables or undertaking large retrofitting projects is leaving households across the country exposed.”