Irish businesses pay some of the highest electricity rates in Europe. The SEAI/Eurostat weighted average for business (non-household) electricity hit 24.27 c/kWh in H1 2025 — roughly 36% above the EU-27 weighted average of 17.87 c/kWh over the same period. But that's an average. What you actually pay depends on your consumption, your meter type, your contract terms, and whether anyone has reviewed your account recently.
_Source: SEAI, Electricity & Gas Prices in Ireland (EPR Semester Update), H1 2025 data, based on Eurostat energy price statistics._
Here's how business electricity rates work in Ireland right now, what drives the differences, and how to compare properly.
What Irish businesses are paying
Business electricity rates vary significantly depending on size and contract type. Small and medium businesses on standard contracts pay a different rate structure than larger businesses on negotiated contracts, and day rates differ from night rates on any meter that separates the two. There's no single "market rate" to quote — what you pay depends on your consumption, your meter type, and when you last had your contract reviewed.
These are "all-in" bundled rates that include the wholesale energy cost and regulated pass-through charges. Suppliers compete primarily on the margin between the two — the wholesale cost they pay and the regulated charges they pass through are largely the same for everyone, so that margin is where the real differences between offers sit.
The market has been volatile. Wholesale electricity prices on the Single Electricity Market averaged €167/MWh in January 2025, falling to around €95/MWh by September before ticking up to roughly €107/MWh in December. That's well below the August 2022 crisis peak of approximately €388/MWh but still above the pre-2021 historical norm of €40–60/MWh.
Why rates differ so much between suppliers
Suppliers don't move together. Each sets its own pricing on its own schedule, driven by its own wholesale hedging position and its own view of the market — which is exactly why the best-priced supplier for a given account changes over time rather than one supplier being permanently cheapest. Regulated pass-through charges such as DUoS, TUoS and the PSO levy are identical for everyone regardless of supplier; what suppliers actually compete on is the wholesale hedging strategy and margin sitting on top of those charges. Some absorb cost increases into their margin; others pass them through in full.
This means comparing on unit rate alone is misleading. Two suppliers quoting similar unit rates can look very different once you factor in standing charges, contract length, exit fees, and how they handle DUoS pass-through. You need to compare on total annual cost based on your actual consumption profile.
What affects your specific rate
Several factors determine what rate you'll be offered:
Consumption volume is the biggest driver. Suppliers offer progressively better rates for higher consumption because the per-customer acquisition and administration cost is spread over more units. A business using 100,000 kWh per year will get a materially better rate than one using 15,000 kWh. Meter type matters. Businesses on DG5 meters (non-maximum demand) see one cost structure; those on DG6 meters (maximum demand, above 50 kVA MIC) see another. DG6 customers pay lower per-unit DUoS charges but face significant capacity charges based on their MIC setting. Contract timing affects the rate you lock in. Wholesale prices move daily, and the forward price at the time you sign your contract determines the commodity portion of your rate. Signing during a price trough locks in a lower commodity cost than signing during a peak — how much lower depends on where the market is at the time. Payment method can also affect your offer. Direct debit typically gets better rates than invoice billing, and some suppliers charge higher rates or request security deposits for businesses without established credit history.What's actually inside your unit rate: the DUoS/PSO breakdown
Most comparison guides quote a single unit rate and stop there. That number is actually a stack of separate charges, each set by a different party, and understanding the stack is what lets you spot whether a quote is genuinely competitive or just re-labelling the same pass-through costs:
| Component | Who sets it | What it covers | | --------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Wholesale energy cost | Market (SEMO Day-Ahead Market) | The actual electricity — moves daily with generation mix and demand | | DUoS (Distribution Use of System) | CRU-regulated, charged by ESB Networks | Cost of moving electricity across the local distribution grid to your premises | | TUoS (Transmission Use of System) | CRU-regulated, charged by EirGrid | Cost of the high-voltage transmission network | | PSO levy | CRU-set annually | Public Service Obligation — supports renewable, peat, and security-of-supply generation contracts | | Supplier margin | Each supplier | Acquisition cost, billing, customer service, and profit |
The first four rows are largely identical no matter which supplier you're with — DUoS and TUoS are regulated pass-throughs, not a place suppliers compete. The competition is almost entirely in the wholesale hedging strategy and the margin row. That's why two quotes with wildly different headline rates can converge once you strip out the regulated portion — and why a broker comparing on total annual cost, not headline unit rate, catches differences that a quick glance won't.
An illustrative calculation: 45,000 kWh SME
This is not a real case or a typical outcome — it's a worked calculation showing how the mechanics stack up, with every input assumption stated. Assume a business using 45,000 kWh a year, split 70/30 day/night, comparing an assumed rollover rate against an assumed renegotiated rate:
| Assumption | Rollover / unreviewed contract | Renegotiated / switched | | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------ | ----------------------- | | Day rate (assumed) | 27.5 c/kWh | 21.5 c/kWh | | Night rate (assumed) | 16.5 c/kWh | 14 c/kWh | | Annual day cost (31,500 kWh) | €8,663 | €6,773 | | Annual night cost (13,500 kWh) | €2,228 | €1,890 | | Standing charge (assumed) | €600 | €550 | | Total annual cost | €11,491 | €9,213 | | Difference | | €2,278 (~20%) |
The day and night rates and the standing charges in both columns are assumptions for this calculation, not published or observed figures — the actual gap for any real account depends entirely on its own rates and consumption. What the calculation shows is the mechanism: the day/night split and the standing charge both move when a contract rolls over, and both matter to the total, not just the headline unit rate.
Why standard comparison sites don't work for business energy
Bonkers.ie and Switcher.ie are built for residential customers with published standard tariffs. Business rates are individually negotiated, and no Irish supplier publishes standard commercial tariffs. The "business" sections on residential comparison sites are essentially lead-generation forms, not real-time comparisons.
To compare business electricity rates properly, you need:
- Your MPRN (11-digit Meter Point Reference Number, on every bill)
- At least 12 months of consumption data in kWh (day and night split if applicable)
- Your current unit rates and standing charges
- Your contract end date (required on all bills since June 2023)
- Your MIC and DUoS group (for larger connections)
How to get a comparison that's actually useful
The most reliable way to compare business electricity in Ireland is to work with an independent energy broker who has access to all suppliers — this is exactly how our price comparison service works. A good broker doesn't just find the cheapest unit rate — they evaluate the total package: unit rates across day/night/peak periods, standing charges, DUoS pass-through method, contract length and exit fees, rollover clauses, and payment terms.
The comparison should be personalised to your consumption. A business that uses most of its electricity at night needs a different contract than one that peaks during the day. A business on a DG6 meter needs MIC and capacity charges factored in. Generic "average savings" figures are meaningless without your specific data — which is exactly why we don't quote one.
Ready to see where you stand? Get a free energy comparison and we'll show you exactly where you sit against the current market — free, no obligation, within 48 hours. If you decide to move, our guide to switching business energy supplier in Ireland explains exactly what happens next.
Where the wholesale numbers in this guide come from
The wholesale figures above aren't a one-off lookup — we track the SEMO Day-Ahead Market ourselves, day by day, including price spreads and wind generation's effect on price. If you want to see the current state of the market rather than a snapshot from when this guide was last updated, our wholesale market tracker publishes the underlying data we use to sanity-check every quote we get from suppliers.