All the promises given by central Government over the past few months that energy prices would not rise, and in particular the price of electricity following the massive 9.8% increase in January, have proved false.
From today electricity, gas and bottled gas will cost more: electricity by 1.5%; natural gas by 5.69%; and bottled butane gas by 5.7%.
It seems the assurances from central Government that the hard pressed consumer in these cash strapped days would be protected from further price hikes on vital services such as energy have come to nothing. Apparently the justification for the hike in electricity prices is the outstanding debt of the electricity companies which stands at 22.850 millions. However, just a month ago the Government assured us that it was unlikely prices would rise unless the public auction of electricity produced an “exceptional rise.” In the event the price at public auction only rose by 2.7%. The worst hit will be electricity customers with contracts for cheaper nighttime tariffs who will face price increases of 5.69%.
Bottled butane gas users will also feel the pain with a bottle of gas rising to 14.8 euros from today.
