THE move to allow Bord Gais to increase gas prices for the second time in six months will mean the average household will now spend €266 a year more on the fuel than it did in 2011.

And the state-owned company's four competitors are now expected to follow it with new rises.

The Commission for Energy Regulation has given the company permission to increase the price of gas for residential customers by 1.47pc.

The price hike will add €13 a year to the annual cost of gas for a typical home and will come into effect next month.

But it comes after a hike in October, which saw annual costs rise by €18. And there were multiple other increases in the past two-and-a-half years.

The latest rise will mean gas prices for the average family will have risen by €266 a year since 2011. From next month, it will now cost the average family €993 a year to heat and cook with gas. This is up from an annual cost of €727 in 2011, calculations by Simon Moynihan of price-comparison site Bonkers.ie show.

Some 373,000 residential gas customers of Bord Gais will be affected by the rise, which will be implemented from April 14.

Mr Moynihan said the other gas suppliers – Airtricity, Electric Ireland, Flogas and Energia – would now also increase their prices. This was because consumers were using less gas, but it was costing suppliers the same to transport the fuel into homes.

"It is a certainty that others will follow with price rises due to the fact that people are using less gas," he said.

Bord Gais Energy managing director Dave Kirwan said: "Bord Gais Energy recognises that price increases have an impact on customers, particularly in these difficult times. That is why we have worked with the CER to try to minimise the effect on our customers."

Irish Independent