Domestic and business energy customers in Ireland pay below the European Union average their utilities, it has emerged.
According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland electricity prices fell for both households and businesses in the second half of 2009.
The agency said that when prices are adjusted for "purchase power parity" between countries, Ireland's prices for gas and electricity were 13 per cent cheaper for households than the EU average.
Energy prices in Ireland fell at a faster rate than in the EU, which resulted in the country moving nearer to the EU average price for electricity and lower than the average price for gas.
Ireland's renewable energy industry has also grown considerably and is now ahead of both national and EU targets to become "one of the worlds leading countries in the use of wind energy for electricity generation", the authority said.
Airtricity recently launched a foray into the domestic electricity market in Ireland, offering prices 14 per cent cheaper than NIE Energy.
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