Household electricity bills are set to increase after ESB and Eirgrid received approval from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) for spending increases to carry out a major upgrade to the national electricity grid.
The CRU published today its price review, in which it approved an initial allowance of €13.8 billion for ESB Networks and Eirgrid, to be invested across Ireland’s “electricity transmission, distribution and offshore networks”.
Should the electricity operators meet targets set by the CRU, the investment allowance may increase to €18.9 billion over the next five years.
“Given the scale of investment with our proposals for PR6, the network charges, which represent around 30% of the average consumer’s bill, are expected to increase,” the CRU said in its price determination.
“As a guide over the five years, the CRU expects the average annual increase for a typical domestic customer’s network tariff to be around €12. This may increase to as much as €21 if the high investment case is realised.”
That means that €1 will be applied to bills per month according to the proposed €13.8 billion spending allowance, a figure that could rise to €1.75 per month if the high case estimate of €18.9 billion is realised.
The CRU outlines among the deliverables of the upgrade to the grid the connection of 300,000 homes; new offshore wind infrastructure; a “storm resilient and a smarter grid”; and new network infrastructure to support the connection of up to one million electric vehicles and 680,000 heat pumps.
According to the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, the investment will enable the electrification of public transport projects, including Dublin City’s long-anticipated Metrolink, and the replacement of 50,000 poles, 181 kilometres of new overhead lines, 319km of new underground cables, 55km of replacement underground cables and 876km of increased capacity on existing overhead lines.
The price review carried out by the CRU noted the significant challenges faced by Ireland’s electricity networks, pointing to the impact of severe storms and rapid population growth:
“The impact of recent storms, most notably Storm Éowyn which caused major disruption across Ireland in January 2025, highlights the need for investment to ensure networks are resilient to climate change and these more frequent adverse weather events. Similarly, the National Planning Framework (NPF) projects than an additional 550,000 homes will be required to cater for Ireland’s increasing population by 2040, with 50% of the national growth concentrated in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.
“Again, significant investment in the networks is required to accommodate these new connections and the increasing demand for electricity.”
Commenting on the announcement, Minister Darragh O’Brien said that Ireland is “entering into the most significant period of energy infrastructure development since rural electrification”.