Wholesale electricity prices rose by 19.2% between February and March, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Despite the sharp monthly increase, wholesale electricity prices - which are the prices providers themselves pay - were 2.4% lower in March when compared with the same month in 2025.
The CSO also notes that wholesale electricity prices are still 66.8% lower than they were at the peak of energy prices that occurred in August 2022.
The figures also show that the price index for all energy fuels rose by 4.6% in March, and was up by 6.5% in the year since March 2025.
The CSO figures also show wholesale diesel prices rose by 7.2% between February and March, with wholesale petrol prices going up by 4.2% in the month.
The figures come as Energy Minister Darragh O'Brien recently warned electricity prices for households could rise by up to 9% this summer.
Minister O'Brien said the situation around electricity prices is "very volatile" due to global pressures.
Commenting on today's CSO figures, Daragh Cassidy from comparison site Bonkers.ie said that wholesale electricity prices can be quite volatile and a month-on-month change of between 10% to 20% up or down is not that uncommon these days.
"The key is to look at the figures over a longer period of six to 12 months. Indeed, prices are down slightly compared to last year and they're now only back at the level they were at in January. So we haven't seen a huge impact on prices from the conflict in the Middle East just yet. Though that could obviously change over the coming weeks," Mr Cassidy said.
"However, that's not to say that wholesale prices aren't high. They are. They're still around double the level they were at before the war in Ukraine broke out. On top of this, charges for the upkeep and management of the grid continue to go up," he said.
"These charges now make up around 40-50% of the total cost of electricity for households I'd say. So a combination of stubbornly high wholesale electricity prices and increasing grid costs is likely to mean we'll see some electricity price hikes later in the year unfortunately," he added.
Over 300,000 electricity customers in arrears in February
The accounts of 316,838 domestic electricity customers were in arrears in February - 58,500 more than the same month in 2025 - according to new figures from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).
Based on available records, this was the second-highest monthly figure, and represents 14% of all electricity customers.
The figures also show that over 191,000 electricity customers have been in arrears for more than 90 days, with average account arrears in February of €492.75.
Meanwhile, 154 electricity customers were disconnected for not paying their bills in February, an increase of 38 on the same month last year.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said the figures "show a grim situation even without the impacts of the illegal attacks on Iran being factored into the data".
Ms Boylan added that "particularly worrying is the rise in long-term arrears ... this is especially worrying to see after the worst of the winter had already passed".
The Dublin MEP also said the sharp rise in electricity customers being disconnected in February "suggests that more households are reaching breaking point.
"Taken together, these figures show a sustained and worsening problem. More households are falling into arrears, debts are getting deeper, and disconnections are accelerating.
"Without Government intervention, there is a real risk that energy poverty will continue to intensify. People need energy credits in the short term, while in the long term, the government must use the presidency of the EU to push forward real reform of the electricity market."
With regard to domestic gas customers, the CRU said 179,439 gas customers (26% of the total) were in arrears for the month.
147,469 gas customers were more than three months behind on their bills, with average arrears of €207.39 for all gas customers.
Ninety households had their gas disconnected in February for non-payment, which was down by 38 on the same month in 2025.
