Ireland: standing charges & prepayment explained
What’s actually in your bill beyond the unit rate — compiled August 2026.
Standing charge
€250.76/year (urban) or €314.98/year (rural) including VAT, from July 2026 — plus a separate PSO Levy line, currently €1.46/month, dropping to near-zero (~€0.51/month) from October 2026
Prepayment vs Direct Debit/standard billing
Pay-as-you-go electricity is real in Ireland via dedicated suppliers. PAYG customers are on the same unit rates and standing charge as bill-pay customers, but pay an additional daily service charge on top — e.g. Electric Ireland’s PAYG Service Charge is 19c/day, and Pinergy adds a 41c/day “Prepayment Charge.” This add-on fee is the real mechanism behind PAYG costing more for identical usage, not a higher unit rate.
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