Irish wholesale energy prices fall for first time in months

Wholesale energy prices in Ireland fell 5% last month. Irish power firm Bord Gais which has 640,000 gas users and supplies more than 300,000 electricity customers released the figures in […]

Wholesale energy prices in Ireland fell 5% last month.

Irish power firm Bord Gais which has 640,000 gas users and supplies more than 300,000 electricity customers released the figures in a monthly price report yesterday.

The Bord Gáis Energy Index – the firm’s average price for oil, gas, electricity and coal – fell 5% while the UK average monthly day-ahead wholesale gas price was at an all-time high for the month of May. The index showed that prices were also down by 4% compared to the value of the index a year ago.

John Heffernan, power trader at Bord Gáis Energy said: “Falls in all four of the fuel commodities that make up the Bord Gáis Energy Index resulted in a 5% month-on-month drop in the May Index. Irish wholesale electricity prices fell 11% and the UK Day-ahead wholesale price also softened.”

He went on: “Despite this, at 66p a therm, the UK average monthly Day-ahead wholesale gas price was at an all-time high for the month of May. The reasons for this were planned and unplanned Norwegian field maintenance, unseasonably cold weather and an aggressive push to refill storage stocks.”

In the oil market, the report notes month-on-month Brent crude prices fell $2 to $100. As for coal, the benchmark European contract price stood at $90.25 per metric tonne at the end of May and is “unlikely to fall much further” as it may trigger cuts to more expensive supply, according to the Index.

It’s worth noting the wholesale prices are distinct from the retail prices and Bord Gais told ELN it usually buys its energy on forward markets.

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