Electric Ireland has become the latest energy provider to increase its prices for both electricity and gas.
Electric Ireland said it will increase its residential electricity prices by 23.4% and gas prices by 24.8% from 1 May.
It said the increase will equate to €24.80 a month on the average residential electricity bill and €18.35 a month on the average residential gas bill.
Marguerite Sayers, Executive Director of Electric Ireland, said the company was acutely aware that the rising cost of living is causing difficulty for households across the country.
But she added that unfortunately the unprecedented and sustained volatility of wholesale gas prices over the last 12 months means that the company now needs to increase prices.
"We delayed the increase as long as we could in the hope that wholesale prices would drop back to early 2021 levels, but regrettably this has not happened," she added.
Last week, gas and electricity company Energia said it will increase prices charged to its customers which will see their average bills go up by 15% from April 25.
Earlier this month, Bord Gáis Energy also said its average electricity bill will go up by 27% and the average gas bill will go up by 39%.
The company said it was ending its 'winter price pledge' with the higher charges taking effect from April 15.
Electric Ireland has encouraged any customers who have difficulty in paying their energy bill to engage with the company, adding that it will work with them to put in place a manageable payment plan.
Meanwhile, Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf has told an Oireachtas committee that increases in consumer prices for energy and fuel "are yet to reflect in full the developments of recent weeks and the implications of the conflict in Ukraine".
Ireland's inflation rate currently stands at 5.6%. Today, Germany announced its inflation rate went over 7% in March.
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Electric Ireland last increased its prices in November, when it upped the price of its electricity by 9.3% and its gas by 7%.
Today's news had been expected given the skyrocketing cost of gas on wholesale markets.
Last year, there were over 35 price hike announcements from Irish energy suppliers and the trend has continued into this year with Bord Gáis Energy, Energia and PrePayPower all recently announcing price hikes.
Age Action's Senior Public Affairs and Policy Specialist, Nat O'Connor, has said that the Electric Ireland price increase is a "serious worry" for older people.
"This is going to affect very many older persons right across the country and it comes on top of price increases from other suppliers and, indeed, a whole range of price hikes we saw last year," Mr O'Connor said speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime.
"Many older persons are on low or modest incomes. In many cases, those are fixed incomes and they just don't have the ability to generate, you know, more income to cover these kinds of costs, so it's going to be a serious worry for very many people."
He said that many older people are living in "more poorly insulated homes in terms of the basic energy rating".
These types of homes cost more to heat.
Older people also do not have sufficient savings or income to finance retrofitting their homes, he added.
Age Action is calling for the energy poverty strategy that lapsed in 2019 to be renewed.
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