PrePayPower Hikes Electricity 8.8% and Gas 10.6% from 1 June
PrePayPower's first price rise in 3.5 years lands on 1 June 2026, adding around €168 a year to electricity bills and €170 to gas. Here's who's affected and what to do.
By SmartSaver Research | Published 7 May 2026 | Updated 8 July 2026
Topics: prepaypower, energy prices, price increase, electricity ireland, gas ireland, switching
PrePayPower has confirmed a two-part price increase across its electricity and gas tariffs, blaming higher wholesale costs driven by the conflict in the Middle East. The company says it has absorbed rising costs "for as long as possible" but can no longer hold the line.
The new rates take effect from 1 June 2026 for both electricity and gas customers across the country.
The Headline Numbers
| Fuel | % Increase | Extra per week (avg household) | Extra per year | |------|------------|--------------------------------|----------------| | Electricity | +8.8% | ~€3.23 | ~€168 | | Gas | +10.6% | ~€3.28 | ~€170 |
Sources: PrePayPower announcement; RTÉ News, 1 May 2026.
The increase will land directly on weekly meter top-ups rather than a single quarterly bill, so the squeeze will be felt almost immediately.
Why the Increase, According to PrePayPower
PrePayPower's stated reasons:
- Wholesale gas prices have surged. Reporting around the announcement put the rise in wholesale gas at 40-50% since the latest flare-up in the Middle East began.
- First hike in 3.5 years. PrePayPower points to an 8-month winter price freeze in late 2024, during which most rivals raised their rates.
- No more headroom. The company says it has now exhausted the buffer that earlier hedging gave it.
Whether you accept that framing or not, the wholesale-cost backdrop is real: the same pressures that pushed Irish bills up in 2022-2023 are quietly returning.
This Is Probably the First Domino
Last autumn, most Irish energy suppliers raised electricity prices by 10-15%. Industry commentary alongside the PrePayPower announcement points to Electric Ireland and the other big suppliers being the most likely to move next, with similar increases expected in the coming weeks.
That matters because:
- Suppliers tend to move in clusters. The 2022 and 2024 hike cycles both saw 8-12 weeks of rolling announcements from different suppliers, not a single co-ordinated jump.
- New-customer "discount-off-standard" deals re-price as the standard rate moves. A 25% discount off a higher base is still a higher bill.
- Customers who switched in late 2024 or early 2025 may already be at the end of their 12-month discount period, exactly when the next price rise is landing.
In short: even if you're not on PrePayPower, you should not assume your current rate is safe.
Who's Most Exposed
PrePayPower's model attracts a particular kind of customer, and that customer is the one this rise hurts most:
- Renters and people without a credit history. PrePayPower famously skips credit checks, which makes it the default for many on lower or irregular incomes.
- People who use prepay for budget control. The €3.23/wk on electricity is a real squeeze when the whole point of prepay is that you can already see exactly what each fiver of credit gets you.
- Dual-fuel prepay customers in older, less efficient homes. Higher-than-average usage means the percentage uplift compounds into a meaningful annual hit.
Political reaction has been quick: Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald called the rise "a hammer blow to families," and Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman called for targeted energy credits and renewable supports. Whether any of that translates into actual relief by 1 June is another matter.
What You Can Actually Do
There's no easy "switch within prepay" play: the prepay-electricity segment in Ireland is small and dominated by PrePayPower itself. But there are real options worth checking:
1. Move from prepay to bill-pay if you can. Prepay tariffs are typically 8-12% more expensive per unit than the cheapest bill-pay deals, even before this rise. If you've built up a track record on PrePayPower and your circumstances have changed (steady income, no recent missed bills), a bill-pay switch with a new-customer discount could save more than the price rise itself costs you. 2. Compare prepay-friendly bill-pay tariffs. Several mainstream suppliers now offer pay-as-you-go-style plans without the prepay premium. Worth running the numbers on your actual annual usage rather than the headline unit rate. 3. Lock in a discount before the wider market follows. If Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis, SSE Airtricity and others do move in the next 6-8 weeks, the time to switch is now, not after their announcements land. 4. Check the PSO levy and standing charges, not just unit rate. PrePayPower's announcement is about unit prices and standing charges combined into the headline %. When you compare, normalise on estimated annual cost for your usage, not on cents-per-kWh alone.The Bottom Line
PrePayPower's 8.8% and 10.6% increases turn the page on three and a half years of stability, and they almost certainly won't be the last hike of the summer. If you're a PrePayPower customer, the increase lands automatically on 1 June. If you're with anyone else, treat this as a 6-week warning that your own supplier is likely lining up something similar.
Action: Run your current annual cost through our energy comparison and see what's available before the next supplier moves. Households who haven't switched in 12+ months are typically the ones with the most to gain.---
Methodology & Sources
- PrePayPower announcement, Latest News, prepaypower.ie (accessed 7 May 2026).
- RTÉ News Business, PrepayPower to raise gas and electricity prices, 1 May 2026.
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