The cheapest electricity in IrelandJuly 2026 league table
Every supplier's cheapest plan, ranked by Estimated Annual Bill — the CRU's standard measure of a plan's yearly cost. This table recalculates automatically from live prices whenever a supplier changes its rates.
Prices last changed 22 July 2026
Lowest estimated annual bill
That's about €262 a year less than the average supplier's best plan — and €648 less than the most expensive.
Every supplier, ranked
Each row is that supplier's cheapest plan by Estimated Annual Bill — the CRU's standard 4,200 kWh a year on an urban smart meter, including standing charges, the PSO levy, VAT and any new-customer discounts.
The catch with every league table
“Cheapest” depends on when you use power
This table prices a typical home. A night-saver plan that ranks mid-table here is the cheapest thing going for an EV owner — and one of the most expensive for someone home all day. Link your smart meter and SmarterMeter ranks every plan against your real half-hourly usage — free.
Find my real cheapest planFrequently asked
Who has the cheapest electricity in Ireland right now?▾
By Estimated Annual Bill (the CRU's standard measure: 4,200 kWh a year, urban, smart meter), Energia's Smart Data works out cheapest at about €1,319 a year. But that's an average household — on time-of-use plans the winner changes depending on when you use power, so check against your own usage before switching.
What is an Estimated Annual Bill (EAB)?▾
The EAB is the industry-standard measure of a plan's yearly cost, defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). It prices a typical annual consumption of 4,200 kWh at the plan's unit rates, then adds the standing charge, any prepayment charge and the PSO levy, all including 9% VAT. It deliberately leaves out cashback offers, welcome bonuses and loyalty points, so plans are compared on their energy price alone. Every Irish supplier must publish an EAB when advertising a tariff.
Why is this table different from other comparison sites?▾
The figures use the same CRU Estimated Annual Bill definition as everyone else — what's different is freshness and completeness. This table recalculates automatically from every supplier's live published prices whenever one of them changes, uses the effective rates a new customer actually pays, and covers every supplier rather than only those with a commercial deal.
Is the cheapest plan here the cheapest for me?▾
Not necessarily. A night-saver plan tops the table for an EV owner charging at 3am and does badly for someone home all day. The only reliable answer comes from your own smart-meter data — link it to SmarterMeter (free) and we rank every plan against your actual half-hourly usage.
How often do these prices change?▾
Constantly. Suppliers change rates, discounts and standing charges through the year, and several announced increases in summer 2026. We check every supplier's published prices regularly and this table recalculates automatically, so the date above tells you exactly how current it is.
How this table is calculated — the CRU's Estimated Annual Bill
Figures follow the Estimated Annual Bill (EAB) methodology defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), the same standard measure suppliers must use when advertising tariffs:
- A typical annual consumption of 4,200kWh is priced at each plan's unit rates. For smart time-of-use tariffs the CRU splits that into day (08:00–23:00, excl. peak) 2,184 kWh, night (23:00–08:00) 1,638 kWh and peak (17:00–19:00) 378 kWh, every day of the week — we apply that consumption pattern to each plan's actual time windows.
- Added on top, as the CRU definition requires: the standing charge (urban), any prepayment charge, and the PSO levy (€1.46 a month ex VAT for Dec 2025–Sep 2026, per the CRU's PSO adjustment decision), all including 9% VAT.
- Excluded, as the CRU definition requires: cashback offers, welcome bonuses, loyalty points and other non-energy items. Where a plan carries a sign-up bonus we note it on the row, but it never changes the ranking.
- We use the effective rates a new customer actually pays (discounts already applied), and only plans available to new customers are ranked. Wholesale-tracking (dynamic) tariffs are excluded because their cost depends on market prices, not a published rate.
- We check every supplier's published domestic tariffs on a regular basis and keep them in a live price register — the table recalculates whenever a price changes.
Want the full picture? See the Irish electricity price index for market-wide stats and recent price movements, or browse every plan's rates.