CRU Approves Gas Network Tariffs for 2024/25

We have approved the gas network tariffs submitted by Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) which will apply for the period 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025.

• ​Essential capital investment is recovered through transmission and distribution network charges on gas suppliers.
• Tariff costs are shared across all domestic and non-domestic suppliers, who decide how charges are passed onto customers.
• Depending on annual consumption, which varies from year to year, it is estimated that a residential gas customer’s annual bill could see increases of between €2.75 and €4.98 per month.

Network tariffs are charged to retail gas suppliers, and each gas supplier then determines how these charges are passed onto their customers depending on the tariffs offered by that supplier. All of the estimated 720,000 gas customers pay these charges through bills received from their gas suppliers.  Network charges form an element of the standing charge on gas customers’ bills. The CRU would advise customers to review their tariffs regularly, and the various options available from suppliers to ensure they are on the best tariff for their usage pattern. The CRU conducts an annual review of transmission and distribution tariffs to ensure that only the necessary and efficiently incurred costs of GNI are included in the calculation of these tariffs. The CRU has now completed this work and the transmission and distribution tariffs from 01 October 2024 to 30 September 2025 have now been published.

Security of Supply

To ensure that there is a safe and secure supply of gas and to support achievement of carbon emissions targets for the energy sector, it will be necessary to continually invest in both the gas and electricity networks. This investment supports Government policies, such as the energy security package, renewable gas targets, the national hydrogen strategy and the national biomethane strategy. GNI’s investment plans, with the oversight of the CRU, will continue to develop at an accelerated pace to support these objectives, to ensure continued security of supply and the decarbonisation of the gas network.

2023/24 Tariffs

Distribution network tariffs for 2024/25 are set to increase when compared to the current gas tariffs for 2023/24. The main reason for the year-on-year increase is that the significant spike in global wholesale gas prices was not included for that period and an inflation only increase was applied to the Tariffs in 2023/24. This meant that GNI’s 2023/24 tariff year revenue was lower than it should have been, resulting in an increased step change in 2024/25. The inflation only measure was taken to reduce the impact of the large increases experienced in consumer energy bills driven by the sharp price increases in global wholesale gas prices and the Ukraine crisis. The measure resulted in an estimated increase of €28 in the average residential gas customer bill, which was lower than the €54 increase that would have been in place if any increase above the rate of inflation had been applied.

2024/25 Tariffs

While there is a required increase for the 2024/25 tariff year, based on recent reductions in household gas consumption, likely due to milder than average winter weather and reduced usage due to high prices, GNI has indicated that residential consumer bills may increase by circa €32.94 per annum/€2.75 per month (or 2.1%) on average. This estimate is based on an annual residential consumption of 9,500 kWh, which takes recent lower demand into account. However, the CRU estimates a possible increase of circa €59.75per annum/€4.98 per month (or 3.9%) in the average residential gas customer’s annual bill. The CRU’s bill impact is based on the established estimated annual bill (EAB), which is based on an annual consumption of 11,000 kWh. The CRU requires energy suppliers and price comparison websites to use the established EAB to allow a like-for-like comparison between available tariff options and prices on offer by suppliers.