SSE AIRTRICITY HAS announced that it will increase its household electricity prices by 9.8% from 1 September. 

The company said the increase is due to “sustained increases in wholesale energy costs over the last year”.

The price change will see a typical household bill increase by around €3.89 per week for dual fuel customers.

For single fuel customers, a standard electricity bill will increase by €2.27 per week, while the standard gas bill will rise by €1.61 per week.

In a statement, SSE Airtricity Managing Director Klair Neenan said the company “have not taken the decision lightly”.

“However, these costs are outside of our control, and, as we have seen from other announcements, impact all energy suppliers in the market,” she said. 

“We will continue to monitor this carefully and, as we have done before, will look to reduce our prices as soon as it is possible to do so. SSE Airtricity has a longstanding history of supporting our customers and we’d encourage anyone who needs help with their energy bills to contact us and we will work with you to find a solution together.”

It comes after Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy both announced that they would be increasing energy prices for their customers at the start of next month. 

Electric Ireland customers will see residential electricity prices rise by 9%, an average bill increase of €8.20 per month, and residential gas prices increase by 7.8%, which equates to €4.98 per month on an average gas bill. 

Bord Gáis Energy’s price change will increase a typical gas bill by €8.36 per month and electricity bill by €11.39 per month for its customers. 

Both companies said the price increases were also due to increases in wholesale energy costs.