Irish wholesale gas prices have plummeted over the last twelve months, with large business users seeing significant benefits, according to the latestWholesale Energy Market Report published by Vayu Energy.
Wholesale prices so far in February are 44 per cent lower on average compared with February 2015 and 10 per cent lower compared with last month. The collapse in prices is due to an overwhelming supply of gas in Europe and a very robust storage position for this time of year.
The average day-ahead price for gas – the contract for gas delivery for tomorrow – is 1.30c/kWh (cents per kilowatt hour) so far in February. This compares with an average price of 2.34c/kWh in February 2015.
Irish wholesale gas prices have now almost halved in euro terms (down 48 per cent) compared with the average monthly price recorded for February over the previous three years. This has had a significant impact on the energy costs of many Irish businesses, particularly in the industrial and commercial sectors.