Dynamic Electricity Tariffs in Ireland

A new kind of home electricity tariff will soon be coming to Ireland. It will have some major advantages over traditional tariffs, but won’t be for everyone. Here’s how to know if a dynamic tariff is right for you.

What is a dynamic electricity tariff?

A dynamic electricity tariff tracks the wholesale electricity price on a half-hourly basis. Each evening, the prices for each half-hour period of the following day will be announced.

The Irish utility regulator has decided that bills for consumers on dynamic tariffs will have four parts:

Standing charge: A flat charge regardless of your electricity usage – just like for standard electricity tariffs
Base unit rate charge: A flat rate per kWh of imported electricity. This may or may not vary based on the time of day, depending on the supplier.
Dynamic unit rate charge: Equal to the wholesale electricity price (from the day-ahead market), but with capped at €0.50 per kWh.
Taxes and levies: VAT and the PSO levy

The big advantage of dynamic tariffs: Cost reductions

There’s a large and increasing amount of variable renewable energy (wind and solar) connected to Ireland’s electricity grid. This means that wholesale electricity prices here are highly volatile. Put another way – there’s a lot of cheap electricity available on windy nights and sunny afternoons.

Shrewd electricity consumers will be able to take advantage of this by scheduling energy-intensive tasks for times with the lowest electricity prices.

The downsides of dynamic tariffs

There are two big downsides to dynamic electricity tariffs.

Uncertainty: Wholesale prices vary dramatically from month to month, so electricity bills could spike suddenly for customers on dynamic tariffs. This means that dynamic tariffs would not be a good fit for financially insecure customers.

Complexity: Some people just don’t want to faff about with watching electricity prices and shifting loads. If you’d prefer to pay extra for simplicity, then stay with a traditional tariff.

When will dynamic tariffs become available?

As of the time of writing (1st of September 2025), no electricity supplier is yet offering a dynamic tariff in Ireland. However, the five largest suppliers – Electric Ireland, SSE Airtricity, Bord Gáis Energy, Energia, and PrePay Power/Yuno – will be obliged to offer a standard dynamic tariff by the 1st of June 2026.

Moreover, all suppliers are free to offer a dynamic tariff before then, if they so choose. Kilowatt.ie will be certain to update our comparison tool to show dynamic options once they do become available.

Note, you’ll only be able to sign up for a dynamic tariff if you have a smart meter and adequate Three network coverage in your area.

We don’t yet know if the dynamic offers from electricity suppliers will be attractive or not. If the experience with smart tariffs is anything to go by, it may take a year or two from the introduction of dynamic tariffs for the market to become competitive. Keep an eye on Kilowatt.ie to see how the offers develop.

Until dynamic tariffs become available, a smart (TOU) tariff will be the next best thing for those who want to save on electricity costs by shifting to cheaper times.

Making the most of a dynamic tariff

To see the true benefits of a dynamic tariff, you’ll need to shift usage to the times with the lowest electricity prices. Here are some big electricity loads that you may be able to schedule:

Item	Shiftable Energy	Comment
EV Charging	35 kWh	~35 kWh to charge a typical EV from 40% to 90%
Water heating	11 kWh	~11 kWh to heat a tank of water with an immersion heater. This can be scheduled with an app if you have a smart immersion timer
Home battery charging	5 kWh – 20 kWh	Cheap stored electricity can be saved to be used later

With the right hardware, it’s already possible to manually schedule these kinds of loads with apps. And it’s likely that developers will start offering automations as dynamic tariffs become popular.

Should You Choose a Dynamic Tariff?

Dynamic tariffs will be a good match for people who:

• Like technology
• Don’t mind keeping an eye on wholesale electricity prices
• Have significant loads which they can shift
• Are financially secure enough to cope with volatile electricity bills

But are probably not worth it for those who:

• Just want simplicity
• Don’t have much flexibility around when they use electricity
• Are financially insecure and need bills to be predictable

How dynamic tariffs will benefit you, even if you don’t sign up for one

The availability of dynamic tariffs will help to reduce electricity costs for everyone.

This is because demand flexibility, which dynamic tariffs encourage, reduces the overall cost of operating the electricity grid. These costs savings will go mainly to those on dynamic tariffs, but there will be side benefits even for those on traditional tariffs. Here’s how:

Reduced PSO Levy: Dynamic tariffs encourage consumers to shift their usage to times when there’s surplus renewable energy on the grid. This can help to reduce wastage – reducing the amount of subsidies paid to renewable energy generators. These reduced subsidy costs will benefit all electricity consumers in the form of lower PSO Levies.

Reduced Grid Reliability Costs: Dynamic tariffs will also encourage consumers to reduce their consumption at times when the grid under pressure. This can help reduce the costs of backup generation, which will benefit all consumers by reducing the grid usage fees built into their electricity costs.

Dynamic Tariff Comparison in Ireland

Kilowatt.ie is ready for dynamic tariffs. Once they’re available in Ireland, you’ll be able to compare options with our electricity price comparison tool.

And remember, no matter what kind of electricity tariff you choose, switching often can give you huge savings – often €400 per year or more. Solar panels can likewise reduce your electricity bills, no matter what kind of electricity tariff you’re on.