New energy provider Yuno has responded to price reductions from larger rivals in the last week by announcing a third cut in its electricity tariffs.
Yuno Energy already put through a price cut at the start of this month, but the company has now responded to planned energy price decreases from Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy by moving to undercut them.
In what is seen as evidence of an energy price war, Yuno is reducing its fixed rate from today.
It said this will mean its fixed rate will again be the cheapest in the market.
The new unit rate is 27.38c per kilowatt hour, including Vat. This is 5.4pc cheaper than Yuno’s previous lowest unit rate.
The firm, which launched last August, has moved again on its pricing as it is determined to be the lowest-priced supplier in the market.
Cathal Fay, chief executive of Yuno, said the latest reduction will mean the company will be €524 cheaper a year than other supplier standard rates after all the recently announced price reductions have been taken into account.
“It’s a fixed rate, so it will not change for the year. Wholesale markets have decreased recently, but are still volatile, so it might be particularly appealing to those that want to be sure they can lock in the benefits of recent price reductions,” he said.
Mr Fay said householders that have not changed supplier in a year or more will save a minimum of €343 a year by joining Yuno.
As it is fixed, the new rate will not change for the duration of the contract to which consumers signed up, the firm said.
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For a typical customer, the annual cost will be €1,415 after Yuno’s third price reduction.
In the past week, the two largest suppliers of electricity and gas have announce their second price cuts since November. However, the implementation of the lower prices is weeks away.
Bord Gáis is reducing electricity unit rate prices by 10pc and gas by 9.5pc. There is also an 8pc reduction in standing charges. The cuts take effect from February 29.
The company, which has 600,000 customers, said the reductions will mean it will have the best value standard variable dual-fuel price on the market.
Electricity-only customers will save €190 a year and gas-only customers will save €141 over a year.
Bord Gáis said the latest reductions in both gas and electricity pricing will mean dual-fuel customers will save an estimated €330 a year.
Last Monday, Electric Ireland said it is lowering electricity prices by 8pc from March 1, with the standing charge going down by the same percentage. Its gas prices are coming down by 7pc, with the gas standing charge falling by the same percentage.
This means Electric Ireland’s residential electricity customers will save an average of €153 this year.
Its residential gas customers will save an average of €111 on annual bills. For dual-fuel customers, this works out at an annual saving of €264.
It is the supplier’s second reduction in prices in recent months. Electric Ireland has 1.1 million customers.
Of the major suppliers, only Energia has yet to announce a second price reduction. Just before Christmas, SSE Airtricity announced a second price cut from February 1. Pinergy announced a number of reductions last year.