Take a look at your electricity bill. Do you know what the different items mean? Do you know what a unit means? How many units are you using? How much are you paying for a unit? Do you have night rate electricity? How much electricity do you use at night? (Check out the links page to get the answers to these questions)

Make yourself aware of electricity suppliers in the market (see links page). Can you avail of cheaper electricity by switching supplier? How much are you likely to save?

The residential electricity market was deregulated on 4th April 2011. This meant that Electric Ireland (formerly known as ESB customer supply) was free to set their own pricing for electricity. In response to this they announced discounts of up to 17%. However you will not automatically get these discounts, even if you are an existing customer of Electric Ireland. Here is what you need to do depending on who your current supplier is.

If you are an existing Electric Ireland (ESB) customer: You need to contact Electric Ireland (1850 30 50 90) and ask them to switch you to the new price plan. You will need your MPRN or account number which are on the top of your bill. You can automatically avail of an 8% discount by doing this. You can get an additional 4% discount by paying by direct debit (but you are not obliged to do this – if you do want to get this additional discount you will require your bank details to hand) and you can get an additional 2% discount if you avail of online billing – again you are not obliged to do this. Note: these figures apply for electricity only customers and do not take into consideration the additional discounts that are available if somebody wishes to switch their gas supply to Electric Ireland. However, it is necessary to contact Electric Ireland on 1850 30 50 90, even if you are an existing customer in order to avail of these discounts.

If you are with Airtricity: The Airtricity discount pricing only applies for the first 12 months that you are with them. Your unit rates will automatically revert to the higher rates after a 12 month period (and you will not be notified). If you contact Airtricity (1850 40 40 80) they can offer you an extension on your discounted rates for a further 12 months (this is being done in response to the Electric Ireland move). If you do not contact them you will be put on the more expensive rate 12 months after switching with no notification. If you wish to switch to Electric Ireland there is a precondition that you sign up for direct debit.

If you are with Bord Gais: The discounted rates only apply for 12 months from the date of switching over. When I enquired if they would extend the discount for existing customers in response to the Electric Ireland move, their response was no. Therefore if you are with Bord Gais for more than 12 months you are on a more expensive rate. Their customer service number is 1850 63 26 32. If you wish to switch to Electric Ireland there is a precondition that you sign up for direct debit.

Do you know how to read your electricity meter (see links page for instructions on how to do this). Take regular readings to start getting an understanding of your usage patterns e.g. do you use more at weekends than weekdays etc. Identify what appliances seem to drive your costs

When taking steps to reduce energy costs, you will want to make sure that you get the biggest return for the effort you put in. It is vital to tackle your big consumers in order to have an impact i.e. if your washing machine is not a significant cost, then changing the temperature cycle is unlikely to have a significant impact on your bill. If you big cost is your immersion then you need to consider how you are using that.

1. Use cheaper electricity i?1 this can be by changing to a cheaper supplier, or by availing of cheaper night rate electricity
2. Rational use of energy i.e. do not use more than you need. There are 3 steps to take when considering how you use energy i?1 see below.