Bright Energy, who entered the Northern Ireland electricity market in November 2020, have announced they are increasing prices from today (19th August 2021).
This follows on from a previous increase on 26th June, and reflects the higher costs, especially in terms of wholesale costs that suppliers currently face, which ultimately are passed through to customers in the form of higher bills.
What does the price increase mean for customers?
Bright Energy announced it will be increasing its variable rate tariff for both bill pay and keypad customers from today, 19th August 2021. This will see the typical bill pay customer needing to pay an extra £113 a year, and keypad customer an extra £107 per year.
Bright’s new tariff rates compared to previous rates and annual cost are shown below…
Bill Pay (24Hr)
| Tariff Rate (inc Vat) |
Standing Charge (pence per day) |
Annual Bill* | |
| Old rate (as of 26th June 21) |
16.602 p/kWh | 10.27 | £568.75 |
| New rate (as of 19th Aug 21) |
20.727 p/kWh | 5.20 | £682.24 |
Keypad (24Hr)
| Tariff Rate (inc Vat) |
Standing Charge (pence per day) |
Annual Bill* | |
| Old rate (as of 26th June 21) |
16.718 p/kWh | 14.30 | £587.75 |
| New rate (as of 19th Aug 21) |
20.727 p/kWh | 8.64 | £694.79 |
What have Bright Energy said…
Commenting on the price increase, CEO of Bright Energy, Ciaran Devine commented that:
‘Unfortunately, wholesale electricity costs have continued to rise, and we now need to increase our prices.
This is not the kind of news we want to give our customers, but our pricing reflects the market and is as fair as we can possibly make it while wholesale prices remain unusually high. When the wholesale market falls again, we will be looking to pass on the savings to customers quickly’.
Who is Bright Energy?
Bright is a relatively new supplier providing electricity to customers right across Ireland. Although they may be a new energy supplier the people behind Bright have many years’ experience working across the energy market in Ireland.
Bright Energy is a partnership between two local family businesses Evermore Energy and The Maxol Group.
What is the Bright tariff offer?
Bright offer one variable rate tariff to all their customers. Because there is only one tariff all customers will always be on the best rate offered by the company.
Variable rate tariffs do just what their name suggests: they vary. This means the price you pay can increase and decrease in line with wholesale costs and other charges, and as wholesale costs have increased significantly over recent months Bright have said they have no option but to pass these through to customers. However, should wholesale costs fall we would expect these to also be passed through to customers.
Bright customers aren’t tied into any year-long contract, so if you sign up and feel like there’s better value to be had elsewhere, you can leave at any time and not be hit with an early exit penalty.
And those who are environmentally conscious will be pleased to know that Bright to provide only 100% green electricity too.
Switch and save
If you are looking to offset price increases the quickest and easiest way is to switch to a cheaper deal. On average people who switched using Power to Switch have saved £143 off their electricity bill.
We compare all tariffs and deals across all electricity suppliers to save you money. Switching is quick, hassle-free and means you keep more money in your pocket – you don’t even have to tell your old supplier you are leaving!
For more information, advice and support on energy issues visit Power to Switch or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
* Based on variable rate tariff and 3,200 kWh annual usage
